Someday We'll Know
by Mystic83
Summary: Sequel to "Dare You To Move". Sydney had finally found the love she had wanted so desperately. Together with Sark, they formed a life to be content with. But when a few old faces show up again, it will take every ounce of their beings to keep that life
1. Two Years Past

Disclaimer: I've borrowed all the characters from the great mind of J.J. Abrams.  
Timeline:  This is the sequel to Dare You To Move.  Check it out if you haven't read it yet…

Sydney Bristow stepped outside of the store with a handful of packages clutched tightly in her right hand.  Shopping had always been one of her favorite things to do, and it was twice as fun when it was in New York City.  Smiling shyly to the security guard who held the door open for her, she began to make her way down Park Avenue to her penthouse apartment.

Standing at the intersection, waiting for the light to turn red so that she could cross the street, she picked up bits and pieces of people's conversations.  There was a slightly drunk looking man who was checking her upside down.  "He's lucky I'm in such a good mood or I'd break out the old spy skills," she thought to herself.

Next to the old man was a trio of young teenagers.  They were looking her up and down, and she caught something about how you could always tell the natives from the tourists in New York City.  The natives were just so much classier.

Sydney looked down at her outfit.  It wasn't that much.  Just a nice khaki skirt and a t-shirt she had purchased from the Gap.  The hat she was wearing she had stolen from Julian without him knowing.  It pleased…. no, more like comforted, her to know that part of her apparel was his

There was a young couple talking about how they couldn't afford to even look at half the things in the shops in this part of Manhattan.  She smiled to herself.  She would have been thinking the exact same thing a few years earlier.

That was before she let herself fall completely and madly in love with the one man she had grown to hate with all her being.  "It sounds like a horrible Lifetime movie," she chuckled to herself.  "My Adversary, My Lover."

Sark had done everything right to keep her hating him for the rest of their lives.  For some reason, it hadn't been enough.  Looking back, she wasn't surprise to realize she had stopped hating him and begun to love him.  There was a subtle change in him that she didn't notice until she could look at it retrospectively.

She wasn't sure if it was when she realized that he could read her like an open book.  Or when he told her that he didn't love her but he had always wanted her.  Maybe it was when he, both selflessly and selfishly, chose to save her life over the life of his sister's and then told her that he could never get enough of her.

Somewhere, between I could never love you and I can never imagine you not being in my life to screw it up, they had fallen for each other as hard as one could.

"And we haven't looked back since," she whispered to herself.

"Did you say something?"  the old man standing next to her asked.

"No.  I guess I'm just lost in my thoughts."

"You look like a girl that would have very happy thoughts," he said politely

"Thank you.  I am happy," she said with a smile as she began to cross the streets.

Happy thoughts.  It was weird to realize that she was actually capable of having happy thoughts.  For so much of her life, she only experienced misery and pain.  Some of it was self-inflicted, some of it just came with the territory.  All of it, she could have done without.

Sark coming into her life only complicated it more.  She had cursed herself for falling in love.  At the time, it seemed like the last thing she needed.  But in the back of her head, there was a little voice screaming that it was exactly what she needed.  Exactly.

Now she knew that the little voice was right.  He was the best thing that could have ever happened.  When she was about to lose all hope, he taught her that she wasn't some kind of hurricane destroying everything in her path.  She wasn't some prophesized train wreck ready to destroy the whole world.  She was just herself, Sydney Bristow.

She had once been an ex-CIA spy, fired from a job that was once all she had.  Her old partner, one of the few people she inherently trusted, dismissed her as if nothing she had done was that important.  She feared she would never know the real reasons behind that dismissal because she never intended to go back to that life.  It was a closed chapter.

Sydney smiled at the doorman to her Park Avenue penthouse as he greeted her by name.

"Hello, Miss Sydney.  Mr. Julian wanted me to make sure you remembered that you have a dinner date tonight."

"Of course I remember, William."  Sydney rolled her eyes.  "Does he really think I'm the type of person to forget our anniversary?"

"Men are crazy sometimes, Miss Sydney."

"Don't I know it!  If you could only hear the stories I could tell you!"  Sydney gave William a small kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sure a sweet girl like you can't have that many stories."

"Honey, you don't know the half of it," she said as she waved goodbye.  It was nice to know that she still had an underlying charm that made people want to get close to her.  It was one of her greatest assets as a spy, and it turns out that it wasn't just her spy work.  She really did have the power of a charmer.

Thinking of the man she was coming home to everyday, she realized that that was just another thing they shared in common.  "The list continues," she murmured as she made her way across the marble tile floor of the lobby.

She had never thought that she would end up living in Manhattan with Sark.  He was a man that she had once thought was completely her opposite.  Every ounce of good she had in herself was comparable to every ounce of bad he had in himself.  It didn't take her long to realize that she wasn't inherently good, and he wasn't inherently bad.  They were both a little of both.

That day fifteen months earlier, she had met him downstairs for lunch in their flat outside Hyde Park.  He had surprised her with plane tickets and a promise of a better world to live in.  She had quickly told him that as long as he was with her, the world couldn't get much brighter.

He had taken her to New York and immediately lavished her with expensive things.  He said that is was his right as the man she loved to make sure that she never forgot it.  And then he had given her the one thing she had never thought he could buy.  The one thing that she didn't even realize she wanted.

A normal life.

He had sold some of his more shady dealings in the underground, spy world in an effort to "clean himself up" for her.  If she remembered correctly, he had said, "You deserve a better man than me, Sydney.  But since you seem hell-bent on staying by my side, I'm going to try to be that better man."

She had urged him not to change for her, and he had assured her that he wasn't.  And he stayed true to his word.  He didn't change.  He just shifted his focus into something more productive.  Mainly, her.

He used the money from his sales to purchase a corporation that would be going bankrupt any day now.  A corporation that he gave to her as a present on her birthday that year.

"Do what you want with it, Syd," he had said.  "I want you to have a normal life.  I know it's the thing you've always wanted, and that by sticking by my side, you've pretty much sacrificed any hope of having it.  I'm not guaranteeing our lives won't be bumpy and full of the usual espionage adventures.  I'm just trying to give you a chance to reduce the craziness."

She had almost asked him to marry her on the spot.  No one had ever made such a selfless gesture for her.  No one.

But no matter what she did, she was still afraid that he was going to wake up one morning and decide that this whole thing was a mistake.  That he didn't really love her.  That he never really had.  She was just a passing phase, which did just that.  It passed.

It was a fear that haunted her every day.  It lurked in the back of her mind and reared its ugly head at the most inopportune moments.  But somehow, Sydney had found a way to push her fears to the back of her mind and put her heart and soul into developing this corporation.

Now, "Irina" was the hottest clothing line in all of New York City and many other cities around the world.  Together with Sark, they turned the company's future around and made it part of the Fortune 500.  Within months of taking over, the stores in Paris, London, Berlin, and Sydney had all tripled their sales.

As acting CEO, Sydney spent most of her days saddled down with tons of paperwork and angry designers.  And she couldn't be happier.  It was just all so normal and perfect.

She stepped in to the elevator and nodded at the man operating it.  "Top floor please."  She got out her key card and swiped it through a panel, giving the elevator access to the floor she had just requested.  Smiling, she remembered the day when Sark had first brought her here.

He had told her that she was the most precious thing in his life and it had took him forever to find a place he felt safe leaving her in.  The penthouse had the security system of Fort Knox, but at first or even second glance, no one could tell.  There were motion sensors and multiple pass keys, and that was just to start.

Sark moved them into the one building in New York that had never been penetrated by thieves or even spies.  He seemed quite proud of the fact that it was one of his holdings that had built and secured the building.  When she asked him the reason for all the security, he simple smirked and said, "Well, I can't have you getting killed again.  The first time was plenty."

She still felt small jolts from the implant the Covenant had placed on her heart.  It was as if it wanted to assure her that her body would never be completely her own.  There would always be a piece of her enemies' with her at all times.

Getting past this fact had been hard.  It would have been a lot harder if Sark hadn't been there to constantly assure her of how important that little implant had been in keeping them together.  She could never imagine what he had gone through, watching her die and then seeing her come back to life again, knowing that he was the real reason she had been shot in the first place.  His love had put her in jeopardy.

Sydney was happy that they had seemingly put that whole past behind them.  Lina had been buried in the family cemetery back in Moscow, and neither one of them had mentioned her since.  No one except she, Sark, and her father knew of what really went on at that club that night two years ago.  And they planned on keeping it that way.

She knew the real reason that they never talked about it, though.  In their own ways, they both blamed themselves for not being able to handle the situation better.  They could both easily come up with a list of a hundred different things to do differently that would have changed the outcome.

A small ding broke Sydney away from her thoughts of the past as the elevator doors opened slowly.

Stepping out of the elevator and straight into their private penthouse floor, she set her bags down on the front table and checked the machine.  She couldn't help but get a little excited by the flashing number one.  It was nice to come home to your boyfriend's voice even when he wasn't there.

Pressing the button, she stopped in her tracks as an unlikely voice began to speak.


	2. The Day A Girl Dreams Of

"Syd," Michael Vaughn's voice rang out from the answering machine.  "I know I shouldn't be calling you.  This is about as difficult for me to say as for you to hea --"

Sydney hit the stop button.  She really didn't want to hear what Vaughn had to say.  The two of them hadn't spoken since she ran into him in Belize two years prior.  The wounds between them had never fully healed, and the words of anger that were exchanged hadn't been erased from her mind.  And she didn't want to dredge them up, not now.  Especially not on a night her boyfriend had been dreaming up in her honor for weeks.

It was their two year anniversary, and she couldn't wait to see what he would do to top the previous year.

One year ago, he had taken her to the heart of Paris, a place she had always wished she had time to really see.  She had been there countless times on missions, but missions didn't really allow for what she wanted.  One of her dreams had always been to experience the beauty of France with the man she loved.  In the back of her mind, she had always pictured Vaughn as being that man.  Slowly over the years, the image of Vaughn in her mind had been replaced by Sark.  And now she knew there was no turning back.

Without her saying a word, he knew all of this.  He had a funny knack of being able to pick up on the things she never said.  She hardly ever had to vocalize what she was feeling anymore.

This was the type of relationship Sydney had always dreamed of being in, ever since she was a little girl, playing wedding with her dolls.  There was a man in her life whose main concern was her.  Everything he did seem to revolve around some aspect of her.

Sydney smiled, knowing even though this fact was true, Sark had his own life.  He had his own projects and dealing going still.  He promised her repeatedly that nothing he was doing would get him arrested.  Now that he had secured a life that he never really knew he wanted, he wasn't willing to go back to the way things had once been.

She chuckled to herself, remembering how hard it had been for them to set up this life.  It had taken all the favors people owed both her and Sark to get the outstanding warrants for him in almost every country imaginable canceled.  Granted it helped that she was a hero of the state here in the United States, but her good deeds could only take them so far.  It had been a long fight with many different governments and organizations, but it was a fight that neither one were willing to lose.

They had both spent the majority of their lives fighting for the rights of other people.  Now the only people they really needed to fight for, the only happiness they wanted to strive for, was their own.  Which is why neither one gave up in their struggle to stay together.

"Good thing, too," she thought to herself as she slipped off her clothes.  "That man is slowly becoming my main reason for getting out of bed in the morning."  After a second, she corrected herself.  "Or rather for staying in bed in the morning."

She got into the shower and lost herself in thoughts of what the coming night with Sark might hold for her.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Sark let himself into the penthouse quietly.  He knew that he had promised Sydney he wouldn't be home for another hour, but he had gotten a little restless at work.  His current business deal wasn't working out as smoothly as he planned.  He was slightly agitated and frustrated, and the best cure for that was a little time with Sydney.

"Syd!  I'm home," he yelled as he threw his briefcase on the front table.  He laughed lightly to himself as he saw the Manolo Blahnik and Armani bags lying there.  She definitely had a major shopping problem that he was only too happy to encourage.

Listening for an answer, he heard the shower running and realized where she was.  It took all of his will power not to strip down right there and join her.  But he knew what the night held for them, and distractions weren't in the plans.

He took off his jacket and loosened his tie as he made his way into the bathroom.  "Sydney," he said over the rush of the water.

"Is that you, Julian?" she called from under the downpour of water.

"Yeah.  Before you yell at me, I know I'm an hour early.  I promise to sit in the front room and not peek while you get ready."

"Why are you home early?" she called.

"Today wasn't the most productive day at work, and, to be honest, all I really did was think of you all day long.  So, I finally gave in and came home."

"I can't believe you're actually securing in saying that.  Where's the cold-hearted man I fell in love with?"

"Oh, he's still in there," Sark said with a smirk at the closed shower door.  "You're just going to have to do your magic and bring out the worst in me.

Sydney opened up the shower door and reached out for him.  "Is that a challenge, Sark?  Because I'm quite glad you're home an hour early," she said seductively.

Sark gave in to her for just a split second before he remembered his wits.  "Stop that, Sydney.  We have a date tonight, and unlike normal, your charms are not going to make us late."

She sighed and shut the shower door.  "Party pooper.  And if I remember correctly, it was you and your hormones that made us late for our last date."

"I told you that would happen if you wore that little red dress I love so much.  You knew what would happen when you chose to wear it anyway."  He smirked to himself as he shut the bathroom door to allow her a little privacy to get ready.  His next move was to pick out the suit from Gucci she had bought him a few months back.  It was her favorite.

He took his time getting ready, knowing that it would be at least a good half hour before she made her way out of the bathroom.  And after that, he would have another hour before she was even close to being ready to go.

Sighing, he sat down on the couch and picked a book up off the coffee table.  He loved the fact that his girlfriend seemed to thrive on reading books about spies and noting all the mistakes they made in the margin.  It made some quite amusing reading for him.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

"I'm ready," Sydney called from the bedroom an hour later.

Sark stood up to tell her he was proud of how quickly she had gotten ready when he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, seeing a strange look flash across his face.

"No… it's just… you… I can't believe…"  Sydney couldn't believe that the most collected man in the world was struggling for words.  Finally, he managed to say what he truly meant.  "You are so beautiful."

The tears welled up in her eyes.  She couldn't help it.  His statement had been so genuine and real.  "I love you," she said.

"And I love you," he said, returning to his usual smirk.  "Now, if I can get over my sappy lovesickness, we can get on with the most fabulous date you've ever been on."

"How do you know it's going to be the most fabulous date I've ever been on?" she asked while slipping her arm into his.  
  


"I just know, Sydney."  He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "And what did I tell you about black dresses?"

"That if I thought wearing a red dress made you go crazy, black would drive you insane," she said with a wide grin.  "I remembered.  That's why I wore it."

Arm in arm, they walked into the elevator and rode down to the lobby.  When they got to the lobby, Sark explained that they weren't going to be driving anywhere just yet.

"I thought this night was supposed to be special, even momentous," she said, fake pouting.  "Momentous nights don't usually involve me walking in heels."

"With you, Syd, most momentous nights involve you running in heels," he pointed out, alluding to her days as a spy.  "Anyway, I thought we'd start the night by going to your favorite Italian restaurant down the street.  But if you're not up to it…"

Sydney grabbed his hand and dragged him out the door.  "Oh, I'm up for it," she called back to him with a smile.  "There's a plate of ravioli calling my name already."

Sark laughed as she led him outside and they started walking down the street hand in hand.  It was the perfect night, not too hot and not too cold.  And she could actually see a few stars poking through the foggy air above.  She couldn't have asked for better weather if she had known ahead of time her boyfriend was going to ask her to walk to their date.

Dinner went by quickly.  That was one thing Sydney never had to worry about when spending time with Sark.  She had bumbled through most of her dates in the years before she met Danny, struggling to come up with words and topics to talk about with complete strangers.  In fact, her first date with Danny, she had struggled to keep him enthused.  Her first date with Vaughn had also been a little awkward, what with them being undercover in Nice and breaking about a million CIA rules.

But with Sark, even when they were enemies, she never felt the familiar struggle in the back of her head to form conversation.  It was effortless, and she never really could figure out why that was.  It just seemed like they were meant to amuse each other as much as they were meant to piss each other off.

Smiling at her boyfriend, she sighed.  She knew that this was probably the only "normal" thing that Sark had planned.  He usually liked to ease into these momentous nights he planned for her, starting them off with something fairly normal.  It almost made her giddy with anticipation of what his next move might be.

After paying the bill, Sark led her out to the front walk where a car was waiting for them.

"The BMW?" she said, curious at his choice.  "It must be a big night for you to use this car.  The last time I saw this thing was when you were trying to close the deal on the beach house you purchased on the Jersey shore."

He just winked at her and held the passenger door open.  When she was seated, he jogged around to the driver's side and got in.  Turning to her, he said, "I know this is clichéd, but I want you to put this on."

She looked down at the object in his hand.  "A blindfold?"

"Trust me on this one.  It will make the impact of tonight twice as great."

"Fine," she said in resignation as she placed the sash over her eyes.  "Just don't drive like your normal self.  I don't fancy not being able to see my death coming."

"Very funny, Bristow."  She smiled to herself.  He still called her by her last name whenever she got sassy with him.  It was one of the things she loved most about their relationship.  No matter how lovey dovey they got, that quick, snarky banter would always be there.  She loved that the most.

After about ten minutes of driving, she asked him if they were there yet.  "Anticipation never hurt anyone, Sydney," he said.  She felt the car slow down.  "But to answer your question, we're there."

She heard the car shut off and his door open.  Before she knew it, she felt his hands slid around hers and lift her out of the car.  It still amazed her that she could put so much trust in one person.  Sure, she had trusted her mother and father throughout the years, but there were always obstacles that kept that trust from being complete.  With Sark, she had just slid right into total trust and never looked back.

Grinning at the idea of her full trust in him, she let him lead her blindfolded to wherever they were going.  They walked for a few minutes before she felt him stop.

"Ready?" he whispered in her ear from behind.  
  
She nodded and felt the sash being slipped from her eyes.  The sight in front of her was too beautiful for words to describe.  "Central Park?"

At least it appeared to have once been Central Park.  Now it was decorated with over a hundred thousand candles, each one lit.  Their reflection glowed off of the lake.  In the distance, she could see her favorite bridge in the whole park, also lit up with candles.  It looked like a scene ripped straight from the movies.  She had no idea how he found the time to set this up.

"Come on, Syd," he said, grasping her hand when he realized that she could probably stand for hours just staring at the scene he had set up.

"How did you arrange this?" she asked, letting herself be led up onto the bridge.

"I saved up for a while and called in a favor with the Mayor.  Turns out if you're important enough you can rent out Central Park for a night."

"Unbelievable," she said as he pulled out her chair for her.  "Completely unbelievable."

"You know what's unbelievable?" he said with a smile.  "The fact that you and I are here together.  I never for a million years thought you would actually be able to put up with me for two whole years without trying to kill me."

"I didn't!" she said with a huge smile.  "Not even once.  That's something to be proud of."

"Indeed, it is.  We must be making progress."

They lapsed into silence, just staring at each other, letting the whole mood and situation soak in.  Both were telling the truth when they said they weren't sure they would make it this far.  They both had fears that the other person would come to their senses and leave.  What they had together was one of those things that always seemed too good to be true.

"Swans," Sydney said, pointing to the pair of swans that were floating across the pond.

"Do you know that swans mate for life?" Sark said, calling her attention away from the small daydream she had lapsed into and back into the real world.

"No, I had never heard that," she said before noticing the strange look he was giving her.  "What?"

"Nothing.  I was just thinking about something."

"What were you thinking about?" she asked taking the bait.

"You know, I never used to be able to fathom a swan wanting its partner so badly that it won't think of any other swan in the world.  Even after their mate dies, they still remain faithful."

Sydney looked up at him in confusion as a horrible thought sprang up from the back of her head.  "Why is it so hard to believe?  I find it absolutely charming."

Sark stood up and offered his hand to Sydney.  She took it and allowed him to lead him towards the water.  Neither one said a word for their own reasons.  Sydney wasn't sure where to begin telling Sark how his little comment completely crushed her dreams.  She knew it was crazy to expect a man like Julian Lazeray to settle down for life.  Marriage just wasn't in his life plan.  But she couldn't help but daydream what it would be like to walk down the aisle in a beautiful white dress to see him at the other end smiling back at her.

It would be perfection if only he were willing to make a leap.

In her heart, Sydney knew she couldn't ask him to do that.  There was no way she could demand that much of him when she knew how much he would be willing to give.  It would be as manipulative as she once thought he was.

After a moment of staring out at the swans, Sark simply turned to Sydney and pointed to a spot on the ground.  She squinted her eyes and saw there was a box sitting on the river bank.  "What is this?" she asked as she bent down to pick it up.

Sark walked over and stood beside her, still staring out at the pair of swans crossing the pond.  "I said that I never used to be able to fathom how a swan mates for life."  He looked away from the swans and over at her.  "That was before I met you."

She smiled at him, silently scolding herself for jumping to conclusions about a comment he had so obviously made offhanded.  "What are you getting at here?"

"Open the box, Sydney."

Sydney humored him, figuring he would be the sentimental type of guy to buy her a nice necklace with an emerald swan on it or something to that effect.  She wasn't expecting to find what she did inside the box.

It was the most perfect ring she had ever seen.

Sark took the box out of her hand and removed the ring with its small solitary diamond resting on a platinum band.  When he had picked it out a few weeks earlier, he knew it was the perfect summary of their relationship.  It was so beautiful and simple that it was almost understated.  But anyone who looked close enough would realize what exactly the ring stood for.

Smiling at her, he bent down on one knee.  "Sydney Bristow, I wouldn't admit how much I loved you when we first met and worked together.  I never told you this, but I really think I could sense how much you would one day mean to me since that very first day when we started working together at SD-6.  Waiting so long to let you know, that was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.  Because of it, I wasted so much time that I could have had with you."

Sydney tried to say something, but no words could be formed.  Sark continued, "I know I've always said that I'm the type of guy to avoid commitment.  And that was the truth.  I had always avoided commitment before you came into my life and demanded that I wise up and change my ways.  Because of that change, I don't think I could stand not being with you every day for the rest of my life, not being assured that you weren't going to wake up one morning and decide that I'm really not the man you thought I was.  I love you, Syd.  I love you more than any man has ever loved a woman in the history of this world.  Which is why I'm standing here now asking you to do me the honor of being my wife.  Marry me."

Sydney could feel the tears trickle down her cheeks.  She had never expected him to do something so crazily beautiful as this.  Smiling down at him, she held out her left hand.  "Of course I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Is that a yes?" he said with a smile.

"Yes, I will marry you."

Standing up, he slid the ring onto her finger.  Then, he scooped her up into his arms and began to twirl her around.  He couldn't believe she had actually said yes.  This whole time, he had to work up the courage to ask her knowing that she would probably say she wasn't ready.  And she hadn't given her answer a second thought.

"I love you, Sydney," he said as he gently kissed her.

"I love you, too, Julian," she said with a smile.  "And I always will."

Standing there in the candlelight reflection off of Central Park, Sydney pulled him into her arms and gave him the most passionate kiss she could muster.  She wanted him to realize that now he was hers forever and she wasn't willing to give that up.  Not ever.

And strangely enough, the same thoughts were running through his head.  He wanted her to know that he didn't intend on leaving her side for the rest of their lives.  Nothing could tear him away.  Nothing.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

A few hours later, the two of them finally made their way back to their penthouse apartment.  It had taken them quite a bit of time because every few feet Sydney stopped to make sure that this was all really happening.  The whole experience was surreal to her.

"I can't believe this is really happening," she said one last time as she sat down on the couch.  With a wink, she added, "I mean, who would have thought a cocky bastard like you would have actually wanted to settle down?"

"Hey!" he said, feigning offense.  "I have to admit that only I would choose one of the world's largest heartbreakers as the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.  I'm hopeless at picking out women."  She gave him a small pout.  "But I have to say that I think I did great on this one."

"I don't think I did so bad myself," Sydney said with a smile.  Her eyes fell on the novel that was sitting on the table.  "Hey!  Have you been reading my books?"

She looked up just as Sark went to press the button on the answering machine.  "Don't press that!" she called out.  But it was too late.  Once again, Vaughn's voice rang through the penthouse, and she had a feeling this time Sark wasn't about to let her turn it off.

"Syd.  I know I shouldn't be calling you.  This is about as difficult for me to say as for you to hear.  But I really need your help.  I know you've tried your best to separate yourself from the CIA government and spies in general, and I respect that.  I really do.  And I hate to do this, but I really need your help, Syd.  My son has been kidnapped.  But I guess I'm getting ahead of myself.  Our division at the CIA has been trying for over two years now to iron out the problems caused by Weiss's defection.  We never did get him to admit to what exactly was the cause.  Two days ago, Weiss escaped federal prison and kidnapped Tyler, my son.  Now, I know what you're thinking.  This shouldn't be that hard a problem for me to handle, what with all the CIA's assets, but it's a little more complicated than that.  Agent Stephanie Conway was the woman who helped Weiss escape.  You remember her as your replacement and my field partner.  She was pretty good, Sydney, but not near as good as you.  I begged your father to give me a number to contact you at.  I think he finally realized how hopeless my situation was when he handed me your number.  I would never ask you this if it wasn't necessary.  Please, Syd.  I need your help."

Sydney looked over at Sark hesitantly as he stood with his back to her.  "I didn't want you to know about that message until tonight was over," she admitted.

"You knew about it?" he asked, turning to look at her.

Sydney relaxed when she saw that his eyes weren't full of hurt or anger, just confusion.  She always forgot how understanding he could be when it came to her.  "I heard the first few lines when I came in from my shopping earlier.  But honestly, I didn't want to have to deal with why he would contact me today.  It was our special day."

Sark nodded and sat down on the seat next to her.  "It's all right, Sydney.  We have a lot of special days together to look forward to."  He reached out and grasped her left hand, gently fingering the ring that was on her finger.  "You want to help him, don't you?"

"I don't know."

He sighed and looked over at her.  "I think you should, Sydney.  The man sounded desperate.  I think he's going to need you if he ever wants to get his son back.  I've seen Agent Conway in action.  He was right.  She is extremely good.  Which is why you need to help him.  Vaughn needs someone better than Conway.  And that, my darling, is you."

She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder.  "Will you come with me?" she asked.

"I wouldn't dream of leaving you alone."

"Good," she said.  She absentmindedly ran her fingers along the back of his neck.

"Though there is one thing I have to put my foot down about."

"What?" she asked straightening up.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her into her lap.  "Michael Vaughn is going to have to wait for your answer until the morning.  This is our engagement night, and we're going to enjoy it if it's the last thing I do."

Sydney smiled up at him and pulled his lips down to hers.  "Yeah," she thought to herself.  "This is the perfect man for me in every way."  Smiling, she stood up and led him into the bedroom.


	3. Leaving the Normal Life

The next morning, Sydney rolled out of bed at a rather late hour.  Usually she got up with the sun to go for a morning job in the Park, but the previous night's festivities had left her a little worn out.  She smiled as she noticed a note for her on the bedside table.

It seemed that Sark had to go into work.  The deal he had been so frustrated with the day before had started to work out its kinks.  He needed to close the deal that afternoon.  At the end of the note, he reminded her to call her offices to let them know she was taking a leave of absence.  And said he would be coming home to her as soon as he could manage.

For a moment, she forgot what he was referring to when he told her to make sure she took a leave of absence.  But then the previous nights events, good and bad, came flooding back into her mind.  Vaughn had called asking for her help in rescuing his kidnapped son.  Sydney still couldn't believe that he had a son and she didn't even know about it.  True, her goal was to keep their lives as separate as she could, but it still shook her up a little.

Because when she had broken contact with him, she had done it right.  She had made sure that no news of his life with Lauren came in front of her eyes.  She thought that was what she wanted, but it was only now she was realizing what a mistake that had been.

True, Vaughn had been her boyfriend and lover three years ago.  But first he had been her friend and the only man she thought she could trust.  He had helped her through one of the most difficult times of her life.  That perfect relationship had changed slightly when she disappeared for two years.  She couldn't fault either one of them for that.

Sydney couldn't help but feel a little saddened by the fact that she wasn't a part of Michael Vaughn's life anymore.  She should never have broken contact with a man who had been so loyal to her through it all.  That was becoming clear to her now.  And she was secure enough in the love she shared with her fiancé that she knew it was the right time to be fixing this rift.

She made a quick call into the Irina offices to let her assistant know that she was taking an undetermined leave of absence and wouldn't know when she was going to get back.  She called it a family emergency and was pleased to realize that phrasing it that way seemed almost right.  She would always consider her old colleagues, Dixon, Marshall, Vaughn, part of her family.

Having gotten her only piece of business out of the way, she dialed a number she had tried to forget so many years ago.  He answered on the first ring.

"Vaughn.  It's me, Sydney."

"You got my message," he said simply.

"We got your message," she subtly corrected.  She didn't want Vaughn to forget that when he talked about her, he also got Sark in the deal.  "I'm sorry to hear about what happened."

Vaughn sighed.  "Before we get into this whole mess, Syd, I want to apologize."

"For what?"

"For not trying to keep in contact with you.  For letting you faze me out of your life without putting up a fight.  For not inviting you to my son's christening.  For not finding some way to let you know that I had a son.  There are so many things."

"It's all right, Vaughn.  It's not like I kept you informed of the events going on in my life."

"That's true.  But all the same, I'm sorry."

"Water under the bridge."  She smiled, imagining that old worry look playing its way across his face.  "I called to let you know that I'm at your disposal."

"You don't know how much that means to me," he said.

"And I also wanted to let you know that Sark is coming with me to Los Angeles.  You want one of us, you get us both.  That's the way things work."

"Syd, I've accepted the choices you've made in your life.  When you first made them, I didn't understand.  But I don't want it to be that way anymore.  I know there must be some good reasoning behind them.  And the fact that you've put up with the guy for two years is test enough to the way things have changed.  Besides, it'll make this whole situation that much better.  I may never have liked the guy, but he was always good at what he did."

"The best," Sydney said, smiling to herself.

"No.  He was never as good as you, Syd."

"He's an asset either way.  So, I think we can get to L.A. by tomorrow morning.  There are some loose ends we need to tie up here in the city before we leave."

"I heard that you were settled into New York now.  And running an extremely successful clothing company."

"Michael Vaughn, have you been keeping tabs on me?" she teased.

She could hear him laugh on the other end of the phone before answering.  "Yes and no.  You don't lead that private a life, Syd.  I mean, you're one of the top executives in the city.  Your company is named after your mother.  Even if I didn't know you were living in Manhattan, the sudden appearance of a clothing company named Irina would peak my interest."

"It was a difficult decision to name it after my mother," she admitted.  "But it was the only name that felt right."

"Have you heard from your mother these past two years?" Vaughn asked.

She paused to form her response.  "Not a word.  But I know she's out there somewhere.  And if I ever need her, I truly believe she would be here in a second.  Even after all my mother's done, I know that she loves me.  She never intended to have me when she was assigned to seek out and marry an American CIA agent."

"I can understand that now…"

"Now that you're a father," Sydney finished.  "How is Lauren doing?  I assume that she is the mother."

Vaughn chuckled.  "Yes, she is the mother.  Unless for some crazy reason this whole pregnancy has something to do with Rambaldi.  Then, I fear that it will turn up that the baby is not even mine, but probably your father's by Emily Sloane, or something crazy like that."

"Don't joke about stuff like that if you don't want it to come true."

There was silence on the line for a moment before Vaughn spoke.  "I miss talking to you, Syd."

"I miss talking to you, too.  We'll never be in the place we once were, I know that.  But it really is a shame that we let it get this far."  Sydney turned as she heard the elevator doors open into their penthouse.  "I'm going to have to go."

"He just came home, didn't he?"

"Yeah."  Sydney smiled at the man she loved.  He mouthed the word 'Vaughn?' to her and pointed at the phone.  She nodded.  He smiled and went about sorting through their mail without another thought.

"I feel like the other man," Vaughn said with a laugh.

"Don't feel that way.  He knows all about what's going on.  It's not like I'm hiding any of this from him."

"That's good.  I wouldn't want this to cause even more problems then it already is.  I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Are the offices in the same place?"

"Haven't moved.  Do you want me to let Jack know you're coming?"

"No.  I can call him later, and anyway, your machine message seemed to imply that he knows you were propositioning me."

"He told me not to count on you saying yes."

"Typical," she said with a laugh.  "My father was just preparing you, in case I had changed from the woman you once knew."

"You haven't, Syd.  You're still there for me when I need you the most."

"Always," she said as she hung up the phone.  She turned around and looked at where Sark was sitting on the couch.  He didn't notice her looking at him, which gave her a few precious moments to just observe the way he held himself.  This was one of her favorite things to do.  The coolness, the assuredness, the firmness of his stature always amazed her.  He was such a powerful man, but she knew there were so many more facets to him.

Without looking up, Sark said, "Would you stop staring at me and get over here?"

She laughed lightly to herself and practically skipped her way to sit down next to him on the couch.  Without thought, he put his arm around her and pulled her close, not looking up from the newspaper he had begun to read.

"Good day?" she asked.

"The best.  I used the good momentum to insure that the organization can be run by a few of my trusted colleagues for as long as need be.  How's Irina doing?"

"My mother or the company?"

"Both," he answered.

"The company seems to be doing fine.  My absence shouldn't be a problem.  My mother, on the other hand…"

"She went off on one of her mysterious trips again, didn't she?"

"Yes."  Sydney looked up at him.  "I started to repair my relationship with Vaughn today."

"Good.  I always respected the way that man treated you."  He glanced up from the paper as he realized something.  "Except for that time in Belize when he was jealous of me and actually caused you pain.  I could have killed the bastard for that."

"He was just concerned.  I had just switched over to the side of our main adversary.  It wasn't the kind of decision he could just let fly by without questioning."  She sighed and snuggled in closer.  "We seemed to be getting back to the old, familiar footing.  I would be happy except for the fact that I lied to him already."

"About your mother?" Sark asked, putting two and two together.  He set the paper down on the table to give her his full attention.

"I told him that I hadn't heard from her in the past two years.  That I had no idea what she was up to, but I knew that she wasn't doing anything that would put me in danger."

"Now, Sydney, you know you couldn't have really told him what your mother has been up to for the past two years."

"I know.  It was never easy to blatantly lie to him, though."

"But you got through it."  Sark kissed her lightly on the top of the head.  "So are we going to Los Angeles tomorrow?"

"If the private jet is available, yes.  I'm sorry for uprooting your life, even if it's only for a short while."

"My life is wherever you are, Sydney.  I've told you that a million times.  That's never going to change."  He grasped her hand.  "Especially not with this on your finger."

"I didn't tell him about it," she stated.

"You will eventually.  This isn't really the proper time."

"I don't intend to hide it, though."

"I wouldn't expect you, too."  Sark stood up.  "Come on.  Why don't you and I take an early flight out to Los Angeles and get reacquainted with the area before dropping in on Vaughn and Lauren?"

Sydney pulled herself out of her arms and looked at him suspiciously.  "I just remembered something.  Didn't you used to have a crush on Lauren back when?"

"I admired the lady for standing up to you.  Not many people were capable of that at the time.  I think she and I could have formed a We Aren't Scared of Sydney Bristow club, but we would be the only two members.  I never had a crush on her, though.  No one could take the place of you in my heart.  To be honest, the moment you walked through the door, I couldn't really think of any other woman in the same way."

"Good answer," Sydney said as she snuggled back down.  "Let's stay here for a little bit before leaving.  I want to remember this moment for a long time.  It might take us a while before we get back to it."

Sark let her cryptic comment go without remark.  Her words echoed through his mind, though.  For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that this trip was going to prove to be a little more difficult than anticipated.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Stephanie Conway hung up the phone and turned to her partner.  "It's done.  He called her."

Weiss smiled at his girlfriend.  "Sydney's back in the game."


	4. Old Faces

Sydney fiddled with a straw wrapper she had had in her hands for the majority of the flight.  She couldn't believe she was actually returning to Los Angeles.

Sark reached across the aisle to grab her hand gently with his.  "You don't have to be nervous, Sydney.  The people we're going to love you just as much as they did before.  Nothing has changed."

"Something has changed," she said, looking at him seriously.  "You're a part of my life now.  You're all of my life now.  They've had time to adjust to that fact, but none of them, except my father, have actually seen the two of us together.  They might decide it's better if we return to New York."

"The objective is bigger than any of their personal feelings, Sydney."

She jumped slightly as the landing gear hit runway cement.  They were here.

After about ten minutes of taxiing, the plane came to a complete stop and its passengers stood up to exit the plane.  Sark gave her one more smile before they walked out into the harsh, smoggy air of L.A.  Vaughn was standing next to an SUV with his wife.

Sydney hesitantly held up her hand in a wave and was happy to see Vaughn smiling back at her.  "Maybe we can return to normal," she let herself believe as she walked towards him.

"Vaughn.  Lauren.  I'm so sorry."

"We'll get through it," Lauren said.  "Thank you so much for answering Michael's call.  I had my doubts."

"Neither one of us were sure that you would give up your normal life to help two people who almost ruined your life."

"Number one, you did not ruin my life.  In fact, what you did to me was more of a favor."  She glanced at the man beside her, thinking of how happy she was that he was in her life.  "And number two, I fully intend to return to that normal life when we're done here."

"Still as stubborn as ever," Vaughn said with a laugh.

"I like to think of it as determination," she replied.

Vaughn looked at Sark for the first time.  After a minute of sizing up, he held out his hand.  "Thank you for coming."

"Most of the world may think I'm a complete asshole, but I do have moments of emotional weakness."

Vaughn cracked a small smile as he heard Lauren and Sydney begin to giggle softly.  "Get in, you two.  We're meeting the others at the offices in about half an hour.  Marshall has been driving us crazy since he found out that you were coming in."

"As long as he doesn't write me another poem…"

The drive to the CIA headquarters was filled with silence, but it was a surprisingly comfortable silence.  As soon as they reached the parking garage, the severity of the situation hit Sydney, and she reached out for Sark's hand.

"It will be all right," he whispered in her ear.

She nodded and followed Vaughn and Lauren as they led the way into the complex.  Nothing had changed all that much.  There was a new paint color in the hallway, and lots of the people walking around weren't familiar faces.  In general, it was the same, though.

Sydney caught sight of her father from across the room and dropped Sark's hand to go to him.  "Daddy!" she cried as she rushed into his arms.

It had been a good six months since Sydney had last seen her father.  Being on different halves of the country and the fact that Jack Bristow was still a CIA spy didn't make contact easy.  However, a Bristow was never one to hide from a little glitch in the plan.  She and her father kept in contact every day unless he was on a mission.

"Sydney.  It's good to see you," Jack said as he released her from the hug.

"It's nice to see you, too."  Sydney was about to fill him on what was new with her when she felt someone try to tackle her from behind.  Laughing, she turned around.  "It's nice to see you, too, Marshall."

"You were always my favorite agent," Marshall said, taking a step back.  "If there were Sydney Bristow action figures and Pez dispensers, I would have them all.  I would be a Sydney Bristow paraphernalia conisuer."

"Thank you, Marshall."  Sydney looked around at the mass of people staring at her.  "Why is everyone staring at me?"

"Because you're a bit of a legend around these parts," said a deep voice behind her.

"Dixon!" she cried as she went for her third hug of the hour.

"Hi, Syd."

She looked up at him and smiled.  "Don't you dare even try to start apologizing for what happened between us."

"I never got to explain why I let you go.  Syd, I thought it was what you wanted.  For so many years that we worked together, all you talked about was having a normal life.  I never realized that that had changed."

"Not too much," she said, looking over at where Sark was standing talking to Marshall.  Marshall looked so nervous she wanted to go over there and assure him that Sark would not be killing anyone that day.

"The Agency misses you."

"I'm not coming back to this life.  It's taken too much time away from me already."  Sydney stepped back and her face visibly paled.

"What's wrong?" Sark asked, shifting into his concerned mode.

"I think that the airplane ride upset the Poptart I had for breakfast."  Sydney put her hand over her mouth and rushed away, presumably to the bathroom.

Sark bit his lip and looked around as everyone shuffled back and forth nervously.  "So, this is what this place looks like on the other half of the prison cell.  I always wondered when I was here."

Lauren cracked a little smile at that comment.  Vaughn let out a small laugh.  "I honestly never thought you'd have the opportunity to see this," he said.

"Me, either," Sark agreed.  He looked around again and nodded.  "It's nice.  Kind of homey compared to the other organization headquarters I've seen."

"We just got them to repaint the walls a more soothing color," Marshall said.  "The old maroon-brown color was making everyone a little angry.  Or so say the psychological tests.  You see, colors can influence people's feelings unintentionally.  It's all about subtlety."

"Interesting," Sark said.  "I'll have to look into that."

"Sorry about that," Sydney said as she returned to the group.

"Are you all right?" Sark asked.  The second she had reappeared, he was at her side and holding her arm for support.

"I'm fine.  I just got a little sick from all this anxiety and stress."  Sark nodded.  "Okay, we should get down to business before I get sick again."

Dixon nodded and motioned for the group huddled around Vaughn and Lauren to make their way to his office.  "Tyler has been kidnapped by ex-Agents Weiss and Conway, you know that much.  It's imperative that we get him back."

"I know that we're all practically a family here, Dixon.  But what makes Vaughn's son so important?"

"To start, Tyler was adopted him when he was one year old.  He is a product of a program set up by the Covenant to create future agents much in the way that Project Christmas was intended."

"The child was one year old," Sydney said as she sat down in one of the briefing room chairs.  "How could he possibly have been programmed that early on?"

"The Covenant harvested genetic material from many of the top agents around the world in multiple organizations.  They actually manufactured children."

"Is that possible?" she asked.

"It is now," Marshall said as he took a seat across from her.  "You know that there have been large leaps of progress made in the area of cloning.  The Covenant stole some classified technology from a base in Switzerland.  It seems like they figured out how to splice DNA to create children who have the potential to grow up to be super weapons."

"Our son is one of those super weapons, Sydney," Lauren said.

Sydney nodded as she saw Sark take a seat next to her out of the corner of her eye.  "Do you know who his biological parents are?"

"We believe that Tyler's mother was Emma Wallace," Vaughn said.

"The woman that the Jim Lennox double murdered in Berlin three years ago?  How is that possible if she died?"

"It seems that this cloning operation has been the main goal of the Covenant since their forming.  Emma Wallace died around the time that the Covenant was being formed," Lauren supplied.  "Enzo Markovic would have been one of the leaders of the Covenant as we know it today if Agent Lennox hadn't shot him in Poland."

"So, Emma Wallace lives on in our son," Vaughn said.  "We don't know who his father is, but in all honesty, I think it's me.  DNA tests are inconclusive because of the nature of his conception."

"Wouldn't you have known if the Covenant got samples from you, Agent Vaughn?" Sark asked, speaking for the first time since they sat down in the briefing room.

"The Covenant could have gotten a hold of my DNA at any point in any mission I went on.  They figured out a way to extract and manufacture full, live DNA from dead epidermal cells.  Because we can't tell for sure, I don't want Tyler to treat me any differently than he would Lauren."

Sydney nodded in understanding.  "So, Weiss chose to kidnap your son because he has the potential to become a super weapon?"

"That's how it appears, Sydney," Jack said.  "We've tracked Weiss and Conway to Miami.  It appears that is where they are holding your son.  The specific location he has been at is either a large hotel in the Biscayne Bay area or an abandoned warehouse a few miles off."

"What do you suggest?" Sydney asked him.  
  
"I suggest that we raid the hotel as soon as possible.  If he's not there, we can easily shift to the warehouse.  The longer we wait to act on intel we receive, the less of chance we have of finding them before they move on to a new location.  So speed is of the utmost importance."

"Sydney, we want you to go in alone to the hotel.  Weiss will not be expecting you so the guards won't be familiar with your face."  Dixon slid a file folder over to Sydney.

"Unacceptable," Sark said as he put his hand on the folder to prevent Sydney from picking it up.

"And why is that, Mr. Sark?" Dixon asked.

"She's not going in to Miami alone.  I'm going with her, and there's no discussion about that."

Sydney put her hand on Sark's.  "There shouldn't be a problem with that.  You said you wanted to send me in because no one will be expecting me.  I'm sure they don't expect Sark to show up."

"Fine," Dixon said.  "Sydney and Sark, you'll go in.  Vaughn and Lauren will run the op from Miami, and be there in case you need backup.  The rest of us will monitor you from here."

They all nodded in agreement and stood up to leave.

"That wasn't so bad," Sark said to Sydney quietly.

"Can I speak to you, Mr. Sark?" Jack asked.

Sydney smiled at him weakly and left him alone with her father in the briefing room.

"Say whatever you need to, Jack."

"I just want to remind you that I'm watching you and my daughter.  I've come to respect you, but your former employee has made it extremely hard for me to trust anyone.  So I don't quite trust you with my daughter yet."

Sark almost wanted to laugh at Jack's subtle reference to the connection between Irina and him.  "Understood."

"But what you did, insisting that Sydney not be alone, that wins you a few extra points with me.  Take care of my daughter when you're in Miami."

"I will," Sark promised and turned to leave.

"Wait.  Sydney told me about your proposal."

Sark stopped dead in his tracks.  He thought they had agreed that they weren't going to keep secrets from one another, and here she went and told Jack about their engagement without informing him.  It would have been so much easier if he had time to prepare for this conversation.  He turned to look at Jack.  "I love your daughter, sir.  That's never going to change."

"That's a start.  I just want you to know that all those threats I've made to you over the past two years about the consequences of hurting my daughter just became twice as harsh.  I don't really believe in the sanctity of marriage anymore since Irina.  So, I'm not going to ease off just because you put a ring on her finger."

  
"Understood," Sark said for a second time.

"Good."  Jack walked past Sark on his way out of the room.  At the door, he turned around and said somberly, "Welcome to the family."

Sark let out a big breath as the door shut behind Jack.  "That could have gone a lot worse," he muttered.  He looked through the glass window at where Sydney was talking to Marshall.  "But for her, it's worth it."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

While Sark was inside the briefing room trying to keep Jack from killing him, Sydney found herself outside with her ex-lover and his wife.  The tension between the three of them when they were in the same room was a little toned done but still present.

"So," Sydney said, turning to face Lauren, "I think I need to know a little more about what the CIA has on Weiss.  Why would he do something like this?"

"For starters, you should probably know just how bad Weiss infiltrated this organization.  He had been reporting to the Covenant for months before you received that intel on him."

"From Sark," Sydney pointed out.  She didn't want anyone to forget his part in pointing out the mole.  It would be good if she could get everyone to focus on the things he's done to help them succeed rather than his past indiscretions.

Lauren nodded.  "Eric had tried on numerous occasions to get some of our best agents killed, including you, Sydney."

"I interrogated him a little when we first brought him into custody.  All he would say to me was to tell you that he was sorry and you were the only one he had problems betraying," Vaughn said.

"How convenient.  He had troubling betraying me, and look.  Here I am, the one who's going to take him done.  That's irony."

"What we didn't realize at the time," Lauren said continuing her explanation, "was that Weiss wasn't just your ordinary mole for an enemy organization.  The intel he fed them was so good that he started moving on up on the chain of command.  He began to go on missions for them when the Agency thought he had a day off or was researching a future mission for us."

"He was a full-on double agent," Vaughn added.  "Now Eric's one of the top men in the Covenant."

"Okay.  I've got enough of the back story.  But how could he kidnap your son, Vaughn?  I didn't think he was faking your whole friendship.  You two used to be so close."

"We started drifting apart, Sydney.  About the time that you came into my life.  You took over all my thoughts and actions.  There just wasn't any room to make sure that Eric was content with his life.  I partially blame myself for his defection.  I shouldn't have ignored him so much."  Lauren put her hand on her husband's shoulder to calm him.  It was an unconscious gesture, but Sydney noticed it at once.  Vaughn really was happy in his marriage.  That was plain for anyone to see.

She turned as she heard her father coming out of the debriefing room and saw the determined look on his face.  "Uh oh," she murmured to Lauren and Vaughn.  "I think I need to go check on Sark.  My father looks like he gave him 'the talk'". 

Sydney walked over just as Sark was emerging from the debriefing room.  "So, how did that go?  Still alive?"

He gave her a reassuring smirk.  "I think you were right.  Your father likes me.  You know how I know that?"

"How?" she said with a smile, settling herself into his arms.

"Because I'm still alive."  
  


She smiled into his chest and just sat for a moment in silence.  In the coming days, she knew there probably wouldn't be much time of this.  Her normal life was on hold for a few days and moments with Sark would be few and far between.


	5. Boom

Miami was always a place Sark had planned on taking Sydney. Like most of the other hot spots in the world, he knew she had been there and never really experienced. He had planned on taking her down to Miami around Mardi Gras time so they could fly over to New Orleans. But it looks like she was just destined to keep visiting this sexy city without having enough time for him to show her just how sexy it could be. And he had wanted to change that so bad.   
  
He felt Sydney shift next to him in their car. Her hair lightly fell against his shoulder, and he couldn't fight the urge to smell it. She always smelled like mangos and sandalwood. It was the strangest, most exhilarating combination. But what was even stranger was what those two smells could do to him now when he smelled them randomly somewhere. He was always thrown completely off his game just by the presence of mangoes. It was rather humorous.   
  
"Would you stop sniffing me?" Sydney said without taking her eyes away from the passing scenery. "I told you that it creeps me out."   
  
"It does not," he protested, fingering her hair lightly.   
  
Sydney turned and smiled at him. "Are we clear on what's going to happen?"   
  
"You and I are going to go in there and get Vaughn's son. What else do I need to know?"   
  
"I would appreciate if you would take this seriously. These people might mean nothing to you, but they were once my whole world."   
  
"I know," Sark said. "I'm sorry. It's just a little hard. Sometimes I feel I'm still in competition with Michael Vaughn."   
  
"Well, if it's a competition, I think you're winning." Sydney planted a light kiss on his lips as the car rolled to a stop.   
  
"Men like me don't lose." He followed her out of the car. Switching into undercover mode, he said to Sydney in a heavy Louisiana accent, "This place is just as beautiful as Todd told us."   
  
She answered back in an equally heavy accent. "The Biscayne Bay area is fantastic. We really need to buy a summer home here."   
  
"But you already have one in the Hamptons," he answered as they both ignored the doorman who opened the hotel door for them.   
  
Vaughn had told her that they would be checking in as Remy and Laura Charneau. Once being shown to their room, they would quickly make their way to Room 1547 where Tyler was suspected of being held. If he was there, the mission was simple. Get him out of the building before anyone realized what was happening. If he wasn't in the room, they were to leave the hotel on the pretext of wanting dinner on the town and would meet up with the others as soon as possible to plan the next move.   
  
Sydney let Sark take control as they checked in. Most people didn't look twice at a man checking into a fancy hotel. But if she had done it, all eyes would have been on her. "All eyes are on me," she said to herself. For once, she wasn't wearing an impossibly revealing dress and people were still staring at her.   
  
"I told you that no matter what you do, people will stare at you, chere," Sark said in his Cajun accent. "You're the most beautiful belle at the ball."   
  
"You spoil me, Remy," she said playfully smacking his arm. His words melted her heart, though. Even if it was in the context of an alias, she knew that was really what he truly thought.   
  
Sark smiled at her as he signed the credit card slip. A bell boy came around to show them to their room almost immediately. They followed in silence into the elevator and all the way up to the tenth floor.   
  
"This is paradise," Sydney said, half-acting and half saying exactly what she was thinking. A lot of her hotel rooms when she was working under SD-6 had been nice, but this took the cake.   
  
"Only the best for my petite," Sark said. He tipped the bell boy and motioned for the man to leave. "Now, let's see about breaking in this room."   
  
Sydney saw the bell boy chuckle out of the corner of her eye as he shut the door. "Very funny, Sark. That man is going to think that we're a couple of horny teenagers with your little sexual reference."   
  
"Who said we aren't?" He came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck.   
  
"You were serious, weren't you?"   
  
"No one will notice if we're a few minutes behind on our schedule."   
  
Sydney turned around to face her fiancé. "You and I both know that if we started this, it would take a lot longer than a few minutes to finish it."   
  
"True." He let go of her waist and walked over to where their baggage was sitting. After a minute of rifling through one bag, he tossed an earpiece to Sydney. "Call Vaughn and let him know we're in."   
  
She nodded and positioned the earpiece in her ear. "Vaughn, do you copy?"   
  
"I'm right here, Syd," came the voice back into her ear.   
  
"Great. Sark and I are in. We're going to wait for a few minutes before exiting the room to look for your son to stay inconspicuous."   
  
"So then you have a few moments to talk?"   
  
"Yes, I do. But I really don't think this is the appropriate time for us to have a quaint, little chat. I'm trying to rescue your son from his kidnappers." She looked over at Sark. He had pulled his laptop out of one of the suitcases and was steadily typing away at it. She had come to realize over the years that he used that thing for almost everything. Obviously everything included saving the kidnapped son of her ex-boyfriend.   
  
"I know, Syd. It's just that I've wanted to ask you something since this morning."   
  
"Ask away," she said while she continued to stare at Sark. He really was engrossed in whatever was on the laptop screen.   
  
After hesitating a moment, he asked, "When were you planning on telling me that you were engaged to Sark?"   
  
Tearing herself away from staring at her boyfriend, Sydney opened the door and walked out onto the balcony to give herself a little more privacy. "Do you think this is the right time or place to be talking about this?"   
  
"Yes. I do," he said through his teeth.   
  
"I'm sorry for not telling you right away, but it's not the kind of thing you blurt out. 'Hey! Do you remember the man that you and I thought we would hate forever and dreamed about killing? Well, guess what. Turns out he's the love of my life and I'm planning on marrying him'."   
  
"Sarcasm noted."   
  
"Plus, I was worried that it might hurt you. The only people who know about it are the two of us and my father. To be honest, I was scared that it might hurt just about everyone I know. But that was never going to stop me from doing what I wanted."   
  
"That's what makes you you," Vaughn said. "So you really love this man?"   
  
"With all my heart."   
  
"All right. I just need to make sure that was the way you felt. I worry about some of the decisions you've made, Syd. You know that. I might have been out of your life for a few years now, but I didn't stop thinking of you. And over the years we haven't been talking, I've come to accept that Sark must not be a completely heartless prick. I guess if you give me time, I can adjust to this new, more permanent development."   
  
"Good," Sydney said. She saw Sark motioning at her through the glass door to come back inside. "Well, it looks like we're good to go. I'm going to have to go radio silent for a while. Me talking to thin air may rouse a little too much suspicion."   
  
"Bring me my son, Sydney."   
  
"I will."   
  
She heard the beep as Vaughn severed their link. In the back of her head, there was a nagging voice warning her that she might not be good enough for this. Saving Tyler Vaughn was probably the biggest assignment she'd ever had, in an official or unofficial capacity. "Can I really do this?" she wondered. Pushing that thought away, she went back inside the hotel room.   
  
Sark was standing in the open doorway, waiting for her to join him. "What was that private conversation all about?" he asked, slipping back into his Cajun accent.   
  
"An old boyfriend found out about this here ring on my finger. Seems he wasn't too pleased that I hadn't informed him." She hoped that he could sort through the sub context to get what she was really trying to say.   
  
"And how did he take the news that you're off the market?"   
  
"Surprisingly well." Sydney held up her hand to signal Sark to pause in their cover-up conversation and scanned the hallway. It was time to slip out of their aliases and into spy mode.   
  
They made their way stealthily to the stairwell and climbed the five flights of stairs to the fifteenth floor. It wasn't that hard to find room 1547. This added to a list of reasons Sydney was compiling about how this whole mission was turning out to be way too easy. They included the fact that this hotel was in an extremely high-traffic area and the lack of trouble checking in under their aliases. But those weren't even the cause of the major alarm going off in her head.   
  
"Did you notice that there are not guards stationed outside the door?" she said as she pulled out her lock pick set.   
  
"Yes. It didn't escape my attention. I don't think Tyler is going to be in that room. This has been too easy to actually be the place."   
  
Sydney was about to respond when the lock made a satisfying click. The door swung open to reveal a young boy sitting on the hotel room bed. The little boy looked so much like his father that it threw both of them off for a moment.   
  
"Tyler?" Sydney asked as she went to step into the room.   
  
Sark held out his hand to stop her. "This is too easy. There must be an alarm trigger or something in our pathway."   
  
Sydney nodded and turned her attention back to Tyler. "Tyler, your mommy and daddy sent us to get you. My name's Sydney. I need you to stay right there, and my friend and I will come get you in a minute."   
  
"Nuh-uh," the young boy said, shaking his head. "Liar."   
  
"We're not lying to you, kid," Sark said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a scanner that would serve to detect any frequency changes that an alarm trigger would give off.   
  
The young boy looked at them with a smile. "The man said that you would come get me."   
  
"What man?" Sydney asked. Who could have possibly known that Vaughn was going to recruit her to help with this rescue?   
  
"Dunno. He said that when you came I would get to go home to Mommy and Daddy."   
  
"That's right." Sydney smiled at the innocent young boy who was so diligently sitting on the bed.   
  
"We can go in, Syd. There are no alarm triggers in the doorway."   
  
Sydney smiled and stepped into the room. Indeed, no alarms went off. "Why don't you come here, Tyler?" She held out her hands to him.   
  
The young boy got up, but instead of walking towards the two of them, he walked around to the other side of the bed.   
  
"What are you doing?" Sark said as he began to make his way over to where the boy was standing.   
  
"The man said I just had to push the button when you come here and then I could go home."   
  
Sydney realized what was happening two seconds before the alarms started going off. There was no time to warn anyone. The man Tyler was referring to had obviously been Weiss. He must have planted a manually activated alarm trigger next to the bed and instructed Tyler to push it.   
  
They went right into action as soon as the sirens started wailing. Sark grabbed the device and realized there was no way to turn the alarm off from there. Sydney picked Tyler up into her arms. Together, they raced out of the hotel room and down the hallway.   
  
They made it halfway to the stairwell before they could feel and hear bullets whizzing past their heads. Sydney ducked into the nearest doorway and tried to shield Tyler from harm. She watched as Sark drew two guns out of his coat pocket and began firing down the hallway.   
  
"There's too many of them," Sydney screamed over the gunshots.   
  
Sark paused in his shooting to kick in the room door that Sydney was leaning on. "Get in!" he yelled.   
  
"What are we doing?" she said as he shut the door behind them.   
  
"We're taking an alternate route down." He nodded towards the balcony.   
  
"What are you thinking?" she asked as they walked over to the balcony doors and Sark slid them open.   
  
"We just need to climb down one story. The people chasing us won't know how far down we've gone."   
  
"Sark, they know I have Tyler. It's obvious that we can't travel far with him."   
  
Sark pretended not to hear her as he quickly set up the rope and pulley system that was in the belt she was wearing. Hooking her in, he gave her a reassuring smile before helping her over the railing. "We're going to go for a little ride now, Tyler," Sark said to the young boy.   
  
"Daddy?" Tyler asked.   
  
"Your daddy is going to be waiting for you outside the building. We'll be there soon." Sydney took one last look at Sark before she began to lower herself down.   
  
It seemed like forever before Sark felt the line go slack and then he heard the hand brake being flung back up towards him. He caught it and quickly hooked it onto the waistline of his pants. It slightly unnerved him that Sydney hadn't said a word since she reached the balcony below, but he knew that he didn't really have time to worry. He had to focus on sliding down the line to the balcony below.   
  
Hitting the cement floor of the balcony, he immediately saw the reason that Sydney hadn't called up to him.   
  
"Hello, Mr. Sark. I didn't expect to see you here," Weiss said. Sydney was sitting on the bed with Tyler in her arms. And Weiss was holding a gun to her head. "I thought that our little Sydney would be coming here alone."   
  
Sark slipped immediately into his hardened spy mode and pointed both of his guns at Weiss. "You obviously are behind on your gossip. Sydney and I don't do anything without each other these days. She's my partner."   
  
"The CIA didn't keep me too informed when I was in a prison cell. But you would know all about that, wouldn't you, Sark? I mean, you did spend a good chunk of time in what I think was the neighboring cell to mine."   
  
Sark let Weiss babble on. In his head he was doing his best to formulate a plan of action. He didn't care what happened to him. He just knew that he had to get Sydney and Tyler out of this room and fast.   
  
"Don't make any sudden moves," said a female voice from behind Sark. Sark immediately pointed one of his guns at the woman behind him and kept the other trained on Weiss still.   
  
Weiss smirked. "You didn't think I'd actually show my face without back-up. Sydney, I do believe you two have already met. But Sark, you haven't met my partner. Stephanie Conway, this is the infamous Sark."   
  
"He doesn't look too tough."   
  
"I'm a hell of a lot tougher than that pansy," Sark said, nodding in Weiss's direction.   
  
"Don't tempt me to shoot you," she hissed back.   
  
"Shooting him is not something you want to do," Sydney threatened from the bed. "Trust me."   
  
"She's telling the truth," Weiss said. He still had his gun trained on Sydney and Tyler. "I've seen her mad, and it's not a pretty sight."   
  
"Okay," Sydney said, turning to face Weiss. She knew that she didn't have to pay attention to Stephanie with Sark in the room. He could handle her completely while he also watched Sydney's back. "Before we have this inevitable showdown, I want to know why you betrayed all your friends. What possessed you to do this?"   
  
"It was pure and simple greed, Sydney," Weiss said with an evil smile. "The CIA wasn't giving me the recognition and respect I deserved. None of my so-called friends were giving me the respect I deserved. So I found somewhere where I could get that. The Covenant understands what an asset I am. They're not all focused on you, Sydney."   
  
"I beg to differ," Sark interrupted. "The Covenant stole two years of Sydney's life. I think they may have been slightly interested in her."   
  
"Shut up before I shoot your little girlfriend," Weiss said.   
  
"Honey, I'm starting to get bored," Stephanie whined.   
  
"Let me fix that," Sark said. He threw his guns up in the air and spun down onto the ground. Before anyone realized he had even moved, he had caught the guns out of the air and was firing one in Weiss's direction while hitting Stephanie rather hard in the knee cap with the butt of the other.   
  
She went down hard, and Weiss dove for cover. Sydney wasted no time in reacting and was already half way out the door.   
  
"Go ahead," Sark yelled to her. "I'll catch up once I've neutralized these two."   
  
She stopped in the doorway and turned back towards him. "I'm not leaving you alone with them."   
  
Sark punched Weiss hard in the stomach, and he doubled over in pain. "You have to go now, Syd."   
  
"I told you I'm not leaving."   
  
Sark saw Stephanie begin to revive herself on the other end of the room. "You are holding a small child that is apparently critical to the safety of this world. That kid is more important than either one of us."   
  
"You know something about this that I don't," she realized. "What the hell are you all hiding from me?"   
  
"Just go. I'll be fine, Syd." He paused to fire a few rounds at Stephanie, causing her to duck for cover. "I've been in much worse situations than this with a hell of a lot less on my side. Go before you distract me too much, and I make a mistake. I can handle this and I promise I'll be right behind you in a minute."   
  
Trusting in the faith that Sark had earned from her slowly through the past three years, she nodded and started to run down the hall. She could hear the sounds of gun shots and yelling begin to get softer as she worked her way farther away. It took so much effort for her not to start doubting him and turn back. As she walked, she kept expecting to hear Sark's voice behind her, assuring her that he was just fine.  
  
"I shouldn't have left him," she mumbled. "I have no idea what's going on in there."  
  
When she did hear his voice finally, she almost stopped running. If her natural spy instincts hadn't kicked in, she probably would have let herself turn around and go back to that hotel room, potentially sacrificing both her life and the life of Tyler Vaughn.   
  
Because she didn't hear Sark's voice yelling confirmation that he was all right and there right behind her. What she heard was his voice screaming her name in pain.   
  
She called up all her strength and kept running down the hall, knowing that he would be furious if she turned back. And he had promised her he would get out, so that means he will. When she reached the end, she allowed herself one last glance at the hotel room door, willing Sark to come stumbling out. That was the moment when an explosion rocked the hallway. It had come directly from Room 1547.   
  
She stopped in her tracks to stare at the obliterated hallway. Not able to stop herself, she held Tyler close to her chest as she made her way back down the hall as calmly as she could. Squinting, she tried to see if there was any movement in the smoke-filled corridor ahead.   
  
She could make out a few figures moving down the other end of the hallway, but she couldn't decipher if one of them was Sark. There was too much smoke.  
  
"Sydney! What the hell is going on?" Vaughn's voice blared in her ear. He had overridden the radio silence.   
  
"There was an explosion. Tyler and I are safe."   
  
She could tell that Vaughn had understood what she was telling him. "Sydney, you need to get out of there now. Please."   
  
She allowed herself a few more precious seconds of stupidity before gritting her teeth and starting to run down the hallway once more. She had to believe in her heart that he wasn't stuck in the room when the explosion occurred, but her head kept telling her that she wasn't that lucky a person.   
  
Tears ran down her eyes as she entered the stairwell and began racing down the stairs. It was at that moment she realized that the spy life hadn't changed at all.   
  
It still could ruin her life. 


	6. Learning to Breathe

Sydney emerged from the panicked building clutching Tyler for dear life. Halfway down the stairs, the impact of what had just happened hit her full force and it was all she could do not to collapse and give up completely. That would have been the simple thing to do, but when had her life ever been simple?   
  
Vaughn and Lauren were waiting for her outside the hotel, pretending to just be a few concerned passer-bys. When they caught sight Sydney, they dropped their pretenses and came running.   
  
"Daddy!" Tyler screamed, holding his arms out and beginning to cry.   
  
Vaughn took his son out of Sydney's arms. After he saw the blank look on Sydney's face, Tyler found himself being handed over to his mother. Vaughn told Lauren he would be right back as Sydney felt him grab her by the arm and begin to lead her away from the site.   
  
"We can't leave," she said, looking up at him with blank eyes. "Julian's still in there."   
  
Vaughn didn't let go of her arm and kept forcing her away. That got her to snap out of her haze rather quickly. "What the hell are you doing? I said we have to go back. He's still in there."   
  
"We're not going back, Syd," he replied.   
  
"What do you mean we're not going back? He's in there somewhere."   
  
"He didn't make it, Syd. You need to accept that."   
  
"Don't feed me that bullshit. I don't believe you. I give up my life to help you and you can't afford me a few minutes of time to go back in." She tried to shrug out of his grip, but his hand just tightened. "Just because you were so willing to believe I was dead when the Covenant kidnapped me doesn't mean that I have to be that weak."   
  
"I'll ignore that comment because you're my friend. Now try to think clearly. We can't chance the fact that Agent Conway and Weiss will find out where you went and come take my song again. We can't risk it. We can't risk my son."   
  
"But we can risk that my fiancé might die if we don't go back in. My life is okay to screw with, but yours is off limits? You are such a hypocrite! I'm not leaving. Not without him." Sydney pulled her free arm back and punched Vaughn with all her might. His grip loosened a little, but he still managed to hang on to her.   
  
"He's dead, Syd!" Vaughn yelled as he wiped the blood off his lip with his free hand. "And we're leaving."   
  
Sydney felt herself being scooped up and thrown over his shoulder. She knew that she should fight, kick and bite and scream, but the effort of moving was getting too much for her. Her body was shutting itself down, and she couldn't do anything to get it to stop.   
  
Vaughn carried her back to the CIA van and deposited her in the seat. She didn't even look up at him as he buckled her in. "You'll thank me for this one day."   
  
"That would mean I was talking to you," she whispered, continuing to look out the window.   
  
Lauren opened the passenger's side door and sat down in the van. "Are we leaving?" she asked hesitantly after a minute of silence.   
  
"There's nothing we can do," Vaughn said.   
  
"There's nothing he wants to do," Sydney added. "He doesn't seem to care about what anyone wants except himself. Selfish pig."   
  
"Sark couldn't have made it out of that building without Weiss and his men realizing it. Even if we went back in, chances are he would already be in Covenant custody."   
  
Sydney didn't answer.   
  
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~   
  
She didn't speak another word to either Lauren or Vaughn the whole drive to the airport, the whole flight home, and the whole drive back to CIA headquarters. Vaughn took Sydney's arm and led her to Jack's office where he deposited in a seat and went looking for him.   
  
When the door to the office opened again and she heard the familiar footsteps of her father entering the room, she finally spoke. "Dad."   
  
"I know, Sydney," Jack said as he pulled her into his arms. "Vaughn told me what happened."   
  
"He probably didn't tell you that we could have saved him. I know we could have saved him." Sydney looked up at her father with tears in her eyes. "There were so many times that I risked SD-6 finding out I was a double agent to make sure that Vaughn made it out of missions alive. I risked my life so many times for him. And he wouldn't let me do that same for the man I love. I wasn't asking him and Lauren to go in with me. I just wanted to go back myself."   
  
"He didn't understand. That boy was never on the same level as you." Jack pulled back from his daughter. "Are you doing to be all right by yourself for a moment? I need to talk to a few of my colleagues, but then I'm going to take you back to Manhattan personally."   
  
She nodded. With that approval, Jack kissed her lightly on the top of the head and left his office.   
  
Anyone who saw him walking down the corridor could tell that he was in one of his moods. The kind that said if you even look at me the wrong way, let alone talk to me, you'll be dead within seconds. The people around the office liked to refer to it as the "Bristow Death Stare".   
  
Jack death stared his way all the way across the office to where Lauren and Vaughn were standing with their son and Marshall. "Excuse me. Agent Vaughn, may I have a word with you in private?"   
  
Vaughn nodded as his face began to display signs of worry. His previous conversations with Jack Bristow never seemed to turn out to his liking. With a few parting looks at his family, he followed Jack down a corridor into an off-the-way corner.   
  
Jack turned around and, instead of beginning a conversation, grabbed Vaughn by the throat. Vaughn found himself pinned up against the wall rather tightly. "You destroyed my daughter's life again today, Agent Vaughn. She was finally happy again and you pulled her back into this life. You pulled her and the man she loves. What made you think that your life and happiness was more important than hers?"   
  
Vaughn felt Jack's grip on his throat loosen and his feet touched back down onto the ground. "I don't think my life was more important than hers."   
  
"Then why did you not let her go back into that building? Why?"   
  
"My son needed to be returned to safety. We didn't have time to go back in."   
  
"You didn't have time to go back in. She did. You could have left her by herself in Miami. Sydney and Julian are no longer agents. Neither one of them is a criminal. If she had found him, they could have just returned to their life in Manhattan."   
  
"I didn't think of that," Vaughn admitted as he rubbed his face.   
  
"Obviously you didn't think at all. And because of that, my daughter has to once again find a way to pick up the pieces of her life." Jack turned on heel and left Vaughn alone in the corner with his thoughts.   
  
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~   
  
The one person Sydney had known for years that she could count on was her father. And he didn't let her down. When he said he had to speak with some of his colleagues before leaving, she knew he was going to confront Vaughn. And she honestly didn't care.   
  
In fact, she was happy. Vaughn deserved to have his ass handed to him on a platter. She knew he had made a mistake. A mistake that she was going to have to live with for probably the rest of her life.   
  
Her father returned rather quickly which gave her a smug feeling inside. "He must have been really harsh with Vaughn," she thought.   
  
Jack made sure that their return to New York was discrete. He promised Marshall and Dixon that he would get Sydney to talk with them sometime in the coming weeks, but that she wasn't ready to talk to anyone right now. A CIA-chartered plane flew them right into Newark, and Jack managed to get them to Park Avenue in record time.   
  
After stepping out of the taxi, Jack turned to his daughter. "This is going to hurt you a lot, Sydney. Returning here without Sark. But you're going to have to push your way through it."   
  
Sydney nodded and stepped through the front door, waving half-heartedly to William the doorman. She managed to hold her tears in all the way across the lobby until she had entered the elevator. When the doors clicked shut, she let them finally fall.   
  
Jack put his arm protectively around his sobbing daughter as he pressed the button for the penthouse. He had raised her to be strong, but life had dealt her a bad hand. If there was anything he could have done to change that, he would have.   
  
The elevator doors opened, and he ushered her over to the couch. "I'm going to stay with you through the night."   
  
Sydney nodded and lay back on the couch. She watched her father glance around the room, taking everything in. "It's a nice place, isn't it?"   
  
"It's very beautiful. I'm sorry I couldn't find time away from work before to see it."   
  
"Sark found it for us." This started a new wave of tears that Sydney managed to sniffle back rather quickly. "I'm sorry. I'll get a hold of myself, I promise."   
  
"Let yourself cry, Sydney. Sometimes, crying is the best remedy for pain."   
  
"Wow, Dad. That was pretty profound."   
  
Jack nodded and took a seat at the other end of the couch. "You'll get through this. I know you will. Now get some sleep. You're exhausted."   
  
Sydney nodded and was about to let herself fall asleep when she felt the stress of the situation come barreling down on her. She made a dash for the bathroom just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet.   
  
The presence of her father standing in the doorway was felt by her before she actually saw him. "I'm all right," she said, still holding on tight to the rim.   
  
"This is the second time you've thrown up in my presence in the past week."   
  
"What are you implying?" Sydney asked as she stood up and reached for some mouth wash. "I swear, it's just the stress. You know that I always used to throw up right before really high intensity missions with SD-6. I guess the two years off let my nerves relax from their hardened states."   
  
Jack helped his daughter walk back out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. She laid down on the bed without question. "Sleep will help with the anxiety."   
  
She barely had time to nod before she found herself following his suggestion and going to sleep. In the back of her head, there was a tiny voice wishing that maybe she wouldn't wake up. Then the pain would be gone for good.   
  
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~   
  
Jack ended up staying with her for the next two weeks. She had very few emotional breakdowns, but there were times where she would sit and stare out the window or at an object for hours without realizing she was doing it. He had chosen to stay a little longer because of this peculiar behavior. When it seemed that she was acting as normal as anyone could expect, he told her he was going to have to leave.   
  
"I've been expecting this all week," she said with a weak smile as she stepped into his arms. "Thank you for staying so long. I know that you probably had things to do back at the CIA which you put off to stay with me. I appreciate it."   
  
"You'll always be my top priority, Sydney. If you need me, I will drop everything to help you. I never want you to forget that." Jack leaned down and kissed her lightly. "Now I have to be going. I let the mail you've been receiving this past two weeks pile up on the kitchen table. Try going through it. That should give you something to do for the next hour or so."   
  
"Thanks, Dad." Sydney walked him to the elevator doors and waved as they shut on him.   
  
She decided to follow his suggestion and sort through the mail. There would probably be a few things addressed to Julian, but she would have to learn sometime how to get through the pain. What had happened in Miami wasn't a dream, and she had to stop trying to treat it as if it was.   
  
The kitchen looked pretty sparse, compared to what it normally looked like. Sydney and her father had been surviving on takeout alone for the past two weeks. There were a few containers in the fridge when she opened it, but that was about the only food around.   
  
Sighing, she grabbed a container of cold lo mein noodles and sat down at the kitchen table. The first few envelopes were harmless bills that she would have to pay if she wanted electricity and a place to stay. She shoved them to the side vowing to return to them when the sorting was done.   
  
The next letter was from one of her main designers at Irina. It seems that he wasn't happy with her lack of response for the past few days and intended to take his employees and walk. "Great," she mumbled. She set that letter to the side and vowed to call her assistant to let her know the situation.   
  
The next letter was for only Sark. It was from one of his business contacts and was handwritten. Sydney began to read it and was shocked to what it said. The woman, Lindsay Rowan, was propositioning Sark with a sexual affair. It seems that she had had her eye on him for a few months and decided that he must not be happy with his girlfriend.   
  
That was as far through the letter as Sydney got before her temper took over and she ripped it to shreds. She slid her chair back, deciding to take a break from the mail opening, and reached for her cell phone which was sitting on the counter.   
  
Dialing a number she had memorized, she waited for the customary two rings before talking. "It's me, Mom. Pick up."   
  
She only had to wait a few seconds before her mother's voice came through on the other half of the line. "Sydney? How are you holding up?"   
  
"I'm doing all right. Dad left today. He has me opening up all the mail from the past two weeks. There was a letter from a woman throwing herself at Sark."   
  
"Interesting," Irina said with a chuckle. "The woman must have been a moron to think she could compete with you."   
  
"Could you come over?" Sydney asked, cutting to the chase.   
  
"Of course."   
  
Hearing her mother hang up, she clicked end and then promptly called down to the front desk to let them know she expected a guest and that it was all right to let the elevator come up to her floor.   
  
When she was done, Sydney threw her phone onto the pile of opened mail and began to sort through the still unopened ones. Becoming engrossed in the task, she tried to let all her thoughts and feelings go. She silently thanked her father for thinking up such a mindless task for her to do to take up time.   
  
Before she realized it, the elevator doors were opening as a bing erupted through the apartment signaling her mother's arrival. Sydney stood up from the kitchen table and stretched her legs. Walking into the living room, she smiled as she saw her mother looking around.   
  
"I like the new chair," Irina said with a smile. Throwing her purse down on the front table, she held her hand out.   
  
Sydney walked over and grabbed Irina's outstretched hand. "What is that?" she asked, pointing to the package in her mother's other hand.   
  
"This was down at the front desk." Irina handed the package over to her. "Someone must have left it for you. William recognized me when I came in and instructed the security guard to give me the package. Says it would save him a trip."   
  
"I love William, but he's lazy." Sydney put the package down on one of the tables.   
  
"How are you really doing?" Irina asked.   
  
"Not so well. This is what I was afraid of when I felt myself first falling in love with Sark. The men I love always seem to get hurt because of me."   
  
"But you told me that you thought this time it was different."   
  
"Obviously, it wasn't," Sydney said with a forced laugh. "He's dead, isn't he?"   
  
"Your father told me that they found a body in the rubble on the fifteen floor but they couldn't confirm the identity. Has something changed?"   
  
"No, they still don't know who that is. But I just know that it's him with my luck. I can't seem to keep a boyfriend for more than two years, Mom. It's like a rule."   
  
"You're being harsh on yourself." Irina sighed and sat down on the couch next to her daughter. "Have you spoken to Michael Vaughn since you came back?"   
  
"No. He keeps calling and trying to apologize. But I can't talk to him right now."   
  
"That's perfectly reasonable. He made a huge error that has caused you a lot of pain. It almost makes me want to do the same thing to him that I did to his father."   
  
"But you've been reformed. No more killing," Sydney said, smiling at her mother.   
  
"Not unless it's necessary," Irina replied with a smirk. "Now let's open that package. It looks important."   
  
"Not yet," Sydney said, waving it off. "I have something I wanted to ask you."   
  
"You can ask me anything. My life is an open book to you now."   
  
"A few months ago, you told me that I was about to enter the biggest fight of my lifetime."   
  
"True."   
  
"What did you mean by that?"   
  
"Honestly, I don't know, Sydney. There were just a few documents I came across that said the Covenant was fortifying their resources and building up for some big operation. I had no idea what it was."   
  
"You don't think that this operation was the kidnapping of Tyler Vaughn," she stated more than asked.   
  
"No. The operation I saw the Covenant preparing for was much bigger than that. I think the kidnapping was all a personal vendetta of Eric Weiss. One that didn't go so successful for him."   
  
Sydney reached over and grabbed the envelope her mother had brought her. "I'm not sure that Tyler Vaughn was his target. The operation seemed a little too sloppy and easy to unravel if it was so straightforward."   
  
"I agree with you, Sydney." Irina looked at her watch. "I hate to do this to you because I know how much you need me here. But I have a German diplomat waiting to meet with me in the Village."   
  
"If the CIA only knew that you were trying to resurrect your spy organization, they would lock you right back up in that prison cell."   
  
"No one's going to tell them. And besides, this time it's going to be different. The issues with Rambaldi took up my whole life, to the point of my almost killing you and your father. I'm not going to let that happen again." Irina looked at her daughter intently. "But we're both in agreement that the CIA just isn't getting the job done. They need an organization to work in tandem with. An organization that isn't afraid to get its hands dirty."   
  
"I can't believe you're trying to set up an SD-6 that is actually a covert branch of the CIA."   
  
"I always loved black ops." Irina winked at Sydney and stopped up. "Call me if you need me."   
  
When her mother had left the penthouse, she used her finger to rip open the envelope and pulled out a VHS tape. "What is that?" she wondered. She looked down at the envelope again and muttered, "Must have been hand delivered. No stamps. No return address"   
  
Sighing, Sydney stood up and pushed it into the VCR. She grabbed the remote as she sat back down on the couch and pushed play. She gasped.   
  
Weiss was sitting on a stool in front of the camera.   
  
"Hey, Syd!" he said jollily. "I'd ask you how you're doing, but I know the answer is not so good considering the man of your dreams is currently not around. I couldn't have planned that whole scenario better if I had tried."   
  
"What the hell does he want?" Sydney asked herself.   
  
"I apologize if this feels like I'm rubbing the pain in. But, I kind of am."   
  
"What happened to you, Eric?" she wondered out loud. "When did you become such a monster?"   
  
Stephanie walked on screen. "We just thought you might want to know that Sark was alive when you ran off with your old boyfriend and his new family. You could have probably saved him if you had been willing to try." Sydney started at the TV in shock. "One of our agents located him in the rubble, and he was in our custody for a little while. We thought it might torture you a little knowing he could have been rescued if you had only tried, if you only had the resources to find him."   
  
"And a little torture never hurt anybody," Weiss added. "The ironic thing is you might have had the resources if you hadn't stopped speaking to Vaughn. If he hadn't had made such a horrible decision back in Miami. I didn't see that one coming, I can tell you that! But I digress. I just wanted to let you know that Sark lost his usefulness rather quickly and got quite annoying, too. That boy has a mouth on him! Woo boy!"   
  
Stephanie looked straight into the camera. "We had him killed this morning. Sorry!"   
  
Sydney could feel the tears trickle down her cheeks as the impact of their words hit home. Sark was gone for good.   
  
"Don't worry, Bristow," Stephanie said with a chuckle. "You'll be seeing us again real soon. And maybe we'll let you live long enough to get at least a little bit of revenge."   
  
Sydney sat on the couch in silence staring at the black screen. She knew the purpose of that video was to make her feel as if the situation was hopeless. The ironic thing was the video didn't leave her feeling that way. Instead, it made her only that much more determined to figure out what had really happened in Miami.   
  
She couldn't trust Weiss now that he had switched over to the other side. Which was why she really believed that he was lying when he said Sark was dead. "I mean, wouldn't I feel it inside somewhere if he wasn't here anymore? I have to believe I would," she said, partially trying to convince herself.   
  
A thought suddenly occurred to her. "I'm thinking that Irina's prophecy was right," she reasoned out loud as she stood up and started pacing. "But not in the way either one of us thought. She said I was going to be entering into the fight of my life. Maybe it's not a fight for my life… maybe it's a fight to get the life I love back. Or more specifically to get the love of my life back."   
  
"Fight of my life, huh?" Sydney looked back at the still pitch black TV. "Well if that's the case, I think I'm knee deep in it. If the Covenant thinks I'm just going to sit back and do nothing about the fact that they have Sark, they're completely wrong. I have worked too hard and too long to have a life with him to let it all just go down the drain at the first sign of hardship."   
  
Thinking about what she said, she laughed. "That's not exactly true. It isn't our first hurdle to get over, and it won't be our last. But he wouldn't give up on me when I was shot. I'm not going to give up on him just because some pesky evil agency says that they killed him."   
  
Suddenly, she realized she was acting like a crazy person, pacing back and forth while talking to herself. She went in the kitchen to grab her cell phone and begin making calls. There were quite a few people out there she knew who owed her favors.   
  
And it was the perfect time to cash in. 


	7. Help Isn't Hard To Find

Sydney hung up the phone loudly on the wall, signaling she had finally finished her last call. A few times during her long list of calls, she heard the sound of the elevator doors opening and then shutting, but she didn't have time to greet whoever had arrived. She stood up and stretched her limbs, preparing to finally do just that.   
  
"Hello? Is anyone here?" she called.   
  
"It's just your father and I," she heard her mother answer back.   
  
Sydney walked into the front room and saw that it was really only the two of them. She could feel her shoulders and back relax a little just knowing that they were here and they were going to help her sort this whole thing out. "How did you two get here so fast? I must have called you only about twenty minutes ago."   
  
"We're your parents. It's in our job description to have super human speed when our daughter needs help," Jack said.   
  
"Was that actually a joke?" Sydney teased.   
  
"I'll try to contain myself," Jack said with a small grin. "You were rather cryptic on the phone what this was about."   
  
"I won't give you the whole story, but let me just say that I think that Sark is out there somewhere. And I intend to find him."   
  
"Of course, he's alive, darling. I raised Julian in almost the same way that your father raised you. Both of you were breed to be top of the line spies. He wouldn't let a simple operation gone wrong end his life. A disciple of mine goes out with a large bang or not at all."   
  
"Very reassuring, Mom," Sydney said, staring at her mother in shock.   
  
"Irina, it might not be the best time to be talking about big bangs with what happened in Miami."   
  
"Oh," Irina said, shrinking back into her seat as she realized how her comment could have been taken out of the context it was meant it. "I'm sorry, Sydney."   
  
"No, it's all right. It shouldn't affect me if I know he didn't die in the explosion. The Covenant has him. I'm almost sure of it." Sydney held up her hand immediately to silence the questions she knew both her parents were dying to ask. "I told you that I don't want to get into specifics or anything before the others get here."   
  
"Who is coming?" Jack asked.   
  
"Dixon says he really wishes he could come, but being head of the CIA isn't the type of job you ask for vacation from. So, instead, he said he's sending the next best thing…"   
  
"Marshall," Irina said with a smile. "I always have had an affection for that man."   
  
"And he was always scared to death of you," Jack added.   
  
Sydney couldn't help but smile, thinking about the bumbling man she called her friend. "Everyone loves Marshall. It's something you can't help doing. I called Vaughn, too, and explained to him the situation. He agrees with me that Sark is alive. And he said he wanted to help me as much as he could to make up for his mistake in Miami."   
  
"That's the least that boy could do," Irina growled.   
  
"You two are going to have to play nice with him. Because both he and Lauren are on a CIA jet with Marshall making their way to Manhattan." Sydney stared down her parents for a few moments before they reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement. "Good. I've thought it out. Mom, you and I are probably best utilized in the field, but Dad, I think you should run at least one of the missions from wherever we set up base. It's what you do best."   
  
"One of the missions?" Jack said, picking up on her rather elusive statement.  
  
"Not now. I'll explain later."  
  
"And do you think that we need more agents out there helping you?" Irina asked. "Because I'm might be able to pull some strings."  
  
"Yes and no thank you. I have it under control. Which is why Lauren and Vaughn are critical to this operation. I can trust Vaughn with my life in the field. And he has vouched for Lauren time and again. I don't think they could do anything but aid us in this endeavor."   
  
"Sometimes I wonder why you let her pick up that horrible CIA jargon, Jack," Irina said, looking at her husband.   
  
"Don't start with me."   
  
"Speaking of starting on subjects we really don't want to talk about," Sydney said, "we're going to have to run some damage control when those three get here. They don't know that Dad and I have been in contact with you for the past three years plus. They're going to want answers."   
  
"We don't have to give them any answers we don't want to," Irina said. "My actions are my business alone."   
  
"They're all of our business if everyone is expected to have totally trust and faith in the field. That is something I am not budging on. This is not a mission we will be screwing up in any way."   
  
The phone began to ring, and Sydney got up to answer it. After a minute, her parents heard say, "Send her up."   
  
"What was that about?" Irina asked as Sydney returned to the room.   
  
"It's another member of our team. One that you all might not agree on," Sydney answered cryptically.   
  
The elevator doors opened a minute later, and an unfamiliar face stepped out. "Mr. and Mrs. Bristow, a pleasant surprise. I have always wanted to meet you," the woman said with a mildly heavy Russian accent.   
  
"Dad, I believe you already know Anna, though not officially. Mom, this is Anna Espinosa. She used to be one of my adversaries at K Directorate before you had Sark destroy the organization from the top down. She's been doing some freelance work since then."   
  
"I've always respected your daughter. I owed her a favor for something she did for me last year. She explained the situation, and I agreed to help."  
  
"Simple as that, right?" Irina said skeptically.  
  
"Anna was an old childhood friend of Sark's, Mom. If you remember correctly, when you assigned him the project of destroying K-Directorate, he had a mole inside the organization."   
  
"Codename: Red Hawk," Irina said, acknowledging she remembered.   
  
"That was my codename, Ms. Bristow."   
  
"Call me Irina. It's the least you could do since it seems that you and I have been fighting on the same side for a while now."   
  
Jack looked at his daughter expectantly, and she continued on with her explanation. "When I told Anna about how the Covenant has kidnapped Julian, she agreed to help. Mostly, it's out of her fondness for the man I love."   
  
"He means a lot to me," Anna said simply.   
  
"There's something else, though," Irina said, picking up on Sydney's unspoken words.   
  
"I may have mentioned the fact that you were trying to slowly set up that little black ops division and were in search of a few good agents you could rely on."   
  
Irina nodded. "I wouldn't even consider it if she didn't have at least a small ulterior motive in being here."   
  
Sydney sat down on the couch between her mother and father. "Let's just relax, though. It should be about another hour before the CIA jet lands, and my old friends make their way here."   
  
"Is anyone else coming that we should know about?" Jack said sarcastically. "Any other old enemies who suddenly want to do things for good?"  
  
"There might be," Sydney said, winking at her dad. "We'll have to wait and see. I don't expect everyone I called on to actually show up."   
  
Jack nodded and slid his arm around his daughter's shoulders., relaxing back into the couch for at least a little while.  
  
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~   
  
Sydney hadn't realized she had fallen asleep until the ringing of the phone woke her up. When she reached over and grabbed it off its base on the table, she half expected to hear the words 'Joey's Pizza'. That was how half-asleep she was. It seems like the events of two weeks earlier were finally weighing on her.   
  
"Hello?" she muttered.   
  
"Ms. Sydney, the three people you told me to be expecting are down in the lobby," William said. "I'm about to send them up."   
  
"Great," she said. Her stomach did a little turn as she thought of talking with Vaughn. She hung the phone up and set it on the table. She hadn't spoken to him since the Miami incident. Her rational side had taken over, and she could understand why he made the choice he did. She didn't like it, but she understood.  
  
Looking around, she tried to steady herself. That was when she realized that her father and mother weren't sitting next to her anymore. In fact, she wasn't even in the same room. Someone had taken her into her bedroom.   
  
"Don't look so alarmed. I used to do this almost every night, Syd," said the man who was leaning against the bedroom door frame.   
  
"Will!" Sydney screamed, jumping up from the bed and straight into his arms. "I thought you weren't going to get my message in time!"   
  
"I wouldn't have, but the second I stepped inside my house, Amy was there to tease me. She said that a certain someone seemed to be trying to get me to steal another passport from her. You're not planning on dying your hair bright red again, are you?"   
  
"No," she said. "And when did you start living with Amy?" She smiled at him as she pulled him across the room and down onto the bed.   
  
"Since I moved to Brooklyn and she got a little vacation time from her job. The message you left was forwarded to our new number by the phone company. I got down her as soon as I could." He paused as he saw her eyes begin to well up with tears. "Oh. What's wrong, Syd?"   
  
"I'm just so happy to be seeing you, and I know I shouldn't be. My life is half ruined right now, and all I can think of is how stupid I was not to get in contact with you when I came to Manhattan. I settled down to a normal life."   
  
"Did you really?"   
  
"You had no idea where I've been?"   
  
"Not since you disappeared about two years ago. I knew you were out there, living the crazy spy life somewhere. I never in a million years imagined you had given it up. That's crazy, Syd."   
  
"There's more," she said. She held up her left hand. "I haven't been alone these past two years."   
  
"Is that an engagement ring I see on your finger? You can't tell me that you're honestly marrying a man who isn't me. Don't you believe in kismet? Destiny? Shameless begging?"   
  
Sydney laughed, but sobered quickly. "You're not going to be so full of humor when you find out who I'm going to marry."   
  
"You're starting to scare me, Syd. That was always a talent you had that I could never quite understand."   
  
"It's Sark," Sydney said after summing up the courage to admit it. It wasn't that she was embarrassed to tell him that she was in love with Julian Lazarey. There was some bad blood and bad history between him and Will, though. She had no idea how her old best friend would react to the news that this past they shared didn't have that large of a bearing on her life.   
  
"What's Sark?" Will said, still completely clueless of the severity of the situation.   
  
"I'm marrying Sark. That is, if we can get him back from the Covenant."   
  
"You're marrying that British bastard?" Will yelled, standing up from the bed. "And you called me to come here to help you find him? What Twilight Zone did you step out of, Syd? I love you, but there is no way in hell I'm helping you if it has anything to do with that prick!"   
  
"I think I can help this situation a little," Vaughn said as he entered the room. "Hey, Syd. Will."   
  
"You knew that she was marrying that asshole and you did nothing to stop it?" Will said, holding his hands up in the air and backing towards the door. "I give up. I don't know what's come over everyone, but I give up. I'm tired of being the only rational person alive anymore."   
  
Vaughn stepped in front of the doorway to keep Will from leaving. "Just let her explain."   
  
"You and I need to talk at some point, Vaughn," she said pointing at him.  
  
Will ignored that comment and went on with his tirade. "I bet both of you are going to tell me that he's a changed man. He reformed himself because of your love for him."   
  
"Not really," she answered, avoiding his eyes. "He has changed a great deal, but he's probably the same man you remember."   
  
"Then how are you supposed to justify marrying him?"   
  
"Sark has given Sydney the one thing that none of us could do before. He managed to provide her with a normal life. He has the resources and the dedication to make sure that she stays protected and cared for. That's a whole level of devotion that neither you nor I got anywhere close to." Vaughn smiled weakly at Sydney. "And I'm really sorry for that."   
  
She nodded her understanding while getting up and walking over to where Will was standing. "I have never been able to explain the whats, the hows, or whys of my relationship with Julian. It never made any sense in the past, and sometimes I think it still doesn't. But I love him. That much I know. And frankly, that's all I need to know."   
  
Will took a set on the bed again, and she moved to sit next to him. "I honestly thought when I returned from the dead to find that nothing was as I remembered it, there would never be happiness in my life again. I dedicated myself to a job that I didn't love anymore, to people that I wasn't sure I could trust. I ended up getting shot while saving Sark's life."   
  
"What were you doing saving his life?" Will asked.   
  
"That's a story for another day, one that will probably be real soon. For now, just know that when I needed help, Sark was the one offering it. While I recuperated, I found myself falling in love with him."   
  
"He doesn't deserve your life," Will said simply.   
  
"I thought the same thing, too," Vaughn agreed. "But then he risked everything to save Sydney's life."   
  
"His own sister tried to kill me, Will. She almost shot me directly in the heart. And to make sure I had a chance to live, Sark stabbed his own sister. He killed her just so that I could be taken to a hospital. And when he realized that he didn't have the resources to get me there, he called my father."   
  
"We've both encountered Jack," Vaughn said. "Confronting him, telling him that you let his daughter get hurt, is just about the scariest thing imaginable."   
  
Will nodded. "So, you say he hasn't changed at all?"   
  
"The only things that have changed are all connected with me. We've been living a normal life before Weiss and Stephanie Conway chose to screw it all up."   
  
"What do you mean?" Vaughn asked. Now he was the one confused.   
  
"I figured out that your son was never their intended target. He was just a means to get what they really wanted." Sydney stood up and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Me."   
  
"They wanted you the whole time?"   
  
"Your son is a very important piece to a puzzle I don't think we're ever going to solve. But Weiss's vendetta was more personal than we first believed. Not only does he want to hurt you, he wants to hurt me. I don't know if this is the effect of some suppressed childhood memories and feelings. Maybe he was beat up one time too many when he was young. I'm not sure. All I know is that you and I are the popular kids in his eyes, and all he wants to do is bring us down." She turned her attention back to Will. "Now do you understand a little about what's been happening to me in the past few years?"   
  
"I heard what you've been saying, but it's not going to be easy for me to accept," he admitted.  
  
"I said this same question to Vaughn before. Sark is a part of my life. So are you. He's willing to accept every single hurdle that having you in my life may cause. I would expect the same from you. If you can't commit to that, then I don't think I can stay in contact with you. It would hurt me more than I can say, but I can't have a constant state of hatred and loathing present in my life. I want to be normal, and those feelings are just too much like my old life."   
  
Will nodded and took a deep breath. "I'll try, Syd. I really will." He stood up. "Now I think we need to get out there and start the planning. Amy's dying to know what's going on."   
  
"You brought Amy?" Sydney asked, completely shocked.   
  
"You're not the only person with secrets, little miss know-it-all. Amy is twice as smart as me. She figured out that you worked for the government a long time before I told her. Being a free spirit, she wanted to do the same. She said that it sounded like fun. Can you believe that?"  
  
"No, I can't," she said with a laugh.  
  
"She said that since you've already used her as an alias, she probably has a good standing among her future colleagues."   
  
"Amy has been field rated for the past year," Vaughn supplied. "I was assigned to be her handler. She just got off of a deep cover assignment in Bali right after we returned from Miami. When you called Will's apartment, she was there on a little vacation time."   
  
"I want to help," Amy said from the doorway.   
  
"Would you people stop bursting into my bedroom?" Sydney teased as she reached out to give Amy a hug.   
  
"We should get started before the crying starts back up again," Will suggested. "Are you expecting any more guests, Syd?"   
  
"I think this is just about it. Thank you guys for coming. It means a lot to me."   
  
"You mean a lot to us, Syd," Amy said with a smile. She offered her hand to help Sydney up off the bed. "And don't you forget it."   
  
"I think you guys just might help give me the strength to get through this."   
  
"If anyone deserves a normal, happy life, it's you," Will said. "And if you want that life to be with Sark, then we're just going to have to do our best to find him."   
  
"Hey, guys! You might want to take a deep breath before you go out there," Amy said hesitantly.  
  
"Why is that?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Well, Lauren isn't too happy that your mother is just calmly walking around your home. And Marshall is sitting on the couch darting his head back and forth looking at your father and then your mother and then back to your father. I think he might implode."  
  
Sydney threw her hands up in frustration and then placed them on her hips. "Are any of you going to have a problem with the fact that my mother is alive and helping us and I've been lying to you for the past two years?" she demanded.  
  
Will and Vaughn shook their heads, with the slight fear that if they said yes, she would hurt them. And they knew that Sydney would do it to.  
  
"Good," she said fiercely. "Let's go." 


	8. Another Betrayal

Sydney stood staring at all the people she had rounded up. It was amazing the people who had come out of the woodwork when she told them she needed help. Taking a deep breath, she started her explanation. "I think all of you know that I called you here because I'm in desperate need of your help. Most of you won't like the full reason why. I did a favor for Vaughn a few weeks ago that saved the one person he cares about the most, but in doing so, I lost the one person I care about the most. Sark."   
  
The grinding jaws and not so pleasant looks that she had expected popped up on most of the faces staring at her. "Listen. I know that you probably won't understand it. But this is who I am. This is who I've become. In the beginning, I tried as hard as I could to change it. I knew that it was crazy and that none of you would understand what had changed. More recently, I've tried to hide it from all of you. I thought it would be easier that way. But I can't hide it anymore. I can't hide away the only feelings in my life I know are real."  
  
She took a deep breath and continued. "I'm not a child that you have to look out for all the time. I'm stronger than a lot of you give me credit for. But there's one thing I know. The man you all hate is one thing that gives me this strength. I know most of you don't understand how I can love a man you only see as a monster. To be blunt, I don't care about your feelings right now. I just want to get him back."   
  
"What makes you so sure he's alive, Syd?" Marshall asked hesitantly.   
  
"I received a tape in the mail from Eric and Stephanie. They wanted to let me know that Sark didn't die in the explosion at the hotel, but they personally killed him since he didn't seem useful."   
  
"And this told you he was alive how?" asked Will.   
  
"Because they were so damned determined to make me believe he was dead." Sydney stopped for a second to push back the tears that were forming in her eyes once more. "Listen. Sark is made of the same material I am. It's not easy for either one of us to just accept death. Yes, the Covenant may have killed him, but he would have put up one hell of a fight. A fight that wouldn't have flown under the radar."   
  
"So because we didn't pick up any weird action at the CIA, you think he's alive?" Vaughn asked.   
  
Sydney turned to look at him. "Yes. That and my gut feeling is all I have to go on." She scanned the rest of the faces in the room. "If any of you don't like it, then feel free to leave. I would appreciate your help, but I don't need it. I can do this on my own if I have to." She turned to point at Vaughn. "Except for you, Michael. You owe me more than anyone ever has. You aren't getting out of this one."   
  
Vaughn nodded with a smile. He knew there was no way he could leave Sydney on her own to do this mission. As self-sufficient as she tried to be, she was wrong. She needed each and every one of them. The rest of the people seated in the room nodded, too.   
  
"Great," Sydney said with a small smile. "Marshall, did you bring what I asked you to?"   
  
Marshall rummaged through his bag and pulled out a disk. "Here it is, Syd. And you're welcome for taking a risk that could get me fired and effectively ruin my whole life, thank you very much."   
  
"Thank you, Marshall." She turned to the group. "On this disk are the top three main sights of Covenant activity that the CIA knows of. If they have Sark and he's alive, there's a good chance he'd be at one of these facilities."   
  
"And why is that?" Amy Tippin asked as she chewed on the pen she had been holding.   
  
"Because he's a fairly recognizable face and a tough man to keep behind bars. They would try to keep him in the most secure, most escape-proof place they have."   
  
"We managed to hold him for two years without problem," Vaughn mumbled.   
  
"I heard that." She pointed her finger at Vaughn. "And let me just tell you that there were reasons why you were able to do that. Reasons you don't know, but back to my point. If we're going to do this right, we need to go in hard and go in fast."   
  
"Are you suggesting a raid on all three facilities at the same time?" Irina asked.   
  
"Yes. Yes, I am. We have the manpower, so why not?"   
  
"Where's the first facility?" Jack asked.  
  
"Venice. And that's the one you and Mom are going to be going to. All I need you to do when you're there is hack into the system and see if there's any mention of Sark. Then, go down to their detaining cells that are on the second sub-basement level. The Venice facility has pretty lax security so you two should be able to handle it on your own.  
  
Sydney turned to where Amy was sitting on the couch. "You, on the other hand, are going to have a slight problem. You, too, Anna."  
  
"I love a challenge," Anna said with a smirk.  
  
"You two are going to Tokyo. The Covenant's main stronghold is situated in the Tokyo Building of NTT Do Co Mo in the heart of the city. I'm sure that you two girls can find some record of Sark and whether or not he's still alive. The security is going to be hard to crack. Which is why I want Will and Marshall to help you out."  
  
"What can Will bring to this mission?" Amy asked, slightly teasing her brother.  
  
"I resent that!" Will cried.  
  
"Actually, your brother will be extremely helpful. He's familiar with the facility because he did an intelligence report on it back when I was still an active agent. He knows floor plans and the basic security measures. Anything else, Marshall should be able to talk you through."  
  
"Where are you going?" Amy asked.  
  
"Seattle with Vaughn and Lauren. I think this is the most likely place Sark might be so it's pretty much the most dangerous one and the one I most want to be at. I need both of you guys there because you're field trained so if I get hurt or caught, you can still get Sark out of there if we find him."  
  
"That's a little fatalistic of you, Sydney," Lauren said.  
  
"I can't help that. Sark's worn off on me the past few years." She took a deep breath. "Listen. I know that most of you don't approve of my choice in men. I can't do anything to change that. But you all love either him or me. That's the reason you dropped everything to help me. And I just want to thank you ahead of time."  
  
Sydney stood up and motioned for people to follow her. Turning around as they were walking, she winked at them and said, "Wait until you see the weapons room. Sark and I might have gotten out of the spy life, but we definitely saved a few of our favorite things."  
  
Vaughn reached over and grabbed Sydney's hand from across the airplane aisle. The look on her face spoke miles for what she was feeling. "It's going to be all right," he whispered with a sincere smile in her direction.  
  
"That's what I keep telling myself," she responded, "but even I can see through the blatant optimism in that statement. There is a good chance that Eric and Stephanie were telling the truth. He might actually be.. I mean, it's possible he… he could have…"  
  
"You don't have to say it, Syd, because it's not true," Vaughn said with determination. "There's no way they would kill Sark if what you said was true, if you truly are their end target. He's a valuable asset."  
  
"The funny thing is that statement was actually reassuring." She pulled her hand out of his as the stewardess walked down the aisle.  
  
"Listen, Syd. I'm sorry for doing what I did in Miami. I wasn't thinking rationally."  
  
"You were thinking about your son. I probably would have done the same thing in that situation. Parents never have clear heads when their children are involved."  
  
"You letting me off easy."  
  
"I know. Life's too short and chaotic to let things keep us apart again. You're my friend now, and I always want that to be true." She smiled at him. "Now tell me. Should I be so happy that my enemies can use Sark against me so effectively?"  
  
"If it means that he stays alive, I think you're entitled to a little appreciation of that fact."  
  
"You always were good at the whole pep talk thing."  
  
"Some things never change." He smiled at her and returned to his book. The flight to Seattle wasn't that long. So hopefully she wouldn't need another pep talk before they touched down.  
  
After a few moments of silence and peaceful reading, Sydney's voice interrupted his conversation. "Why don't I switch seats with Lauren so you can have some time with your wife? You shouldn't have to spend the whole flight making sure I don't spiral into a full-on nervous breakdown."  
  
Vaughn laughed. She had always been an extremely perceptive girl, and he hadn't been so sly when he insisted that Lauren take the seat at the back of the plane, leaving him and Sydney the two seats near the front. "If you think you'll be all right by yourself, fine. Otherwise, you're not moving an inch."  
  
"I will be. And I promise if I start slipping again, I'll come tell you." She smiled at him as she got up out of her seat. The plane was one of the larger ones. Plus, it seemed like everyone on board had to get up to use the bathroom. It took her at least five minutes just to reach Lauren's seat.  
  
"Hi," Lauren said, looking up from the files she was working on. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Nothing at all. I'm switching seats with you."  
  
"Again, is something wrong?"  
  
"No. I just wanted to give your husband a break. He was starting to revert back to the old pep-taker I knew and loved." Sydney winced inside as the l-word came out of her mouth. She had been avoiding the whole issue of her past with Vaughn whenever she talked with Lauren. Except it seemed like she kept unintentionally bringing it up.  
  
Lauren smiled at her as she began to pack up her work. "It's one of his best qualities, don't you think?"  
  
"It's something special," she said with a smile.  
  
"Listen, Sydney," Lauren said without looking up from her packing. "I want you to know that you don't have to dance around the subject of what you and Michael had. I know in the back of my head that if you hadn't disappeared for two years, we all probably would have been in a different place right now. But you did." She looked up to see Sydney staring at her with a slightly shocked look on her face. "I'm sorry if that came out harsh."  
  
"Just a little unexpected," Sydney managed to spit out.  
  
"I was just saying that it seems like we're all happy since you disappeared. That came out so wrong."  
  
"I think I understand what you're getting at. You and Michael are happy with Tyler. And I'm pretty much on cloud nine with Sark. Or at least I was up until a few days ago."  
  
"We'll get him back. I promise." Lauren stood up and gave Sydney her seat. "Listen. I know you probably blame Michael and I for what happened. And I'm sorry for putting you in that position."  
  
"I'll admit that there is a little blame there. But knowing what would have happened, I still wouldn't have been able to just let your son stay kidnapped."  
  
"And that's what makes you a good person, Sydney Bristow. That's why everything is going to turn out just fine." Lauren gave her one last smile before walking to the front of the airplane.  
  
"Looks like some of your husband's talent rubbed off on you," Sydney said to herself. Sighing, she sat back in her chair and tried to take her mind off the mission at hand.  
  
The high-tech area of Seattle was booming as Sydney and Vaughn walked into the main building of BioChem, International. According to Marshall's intel, this was the medical division of the Covenant and also an incredibly likely place to find information that could further Sydney's objective.  
  
The two of them were posing as federal inspectors sent in to make sure that the facility was up to safety code expectations. It was the perfect alias to get them in the front door, which was all they really needed.  
  
Sydney flashed the badge that Marshall had provided her to get past the front security desk and walked through the corridors like she owned the building.  
  
"You still have it," Vaughn whispered in her ear.  
  
"What?" she asked as she took a right into an empty hallway.  
  
"That spy strut. You always used to walk differently when you went on missions. You still do it."  
  
She smiled at him and pulled him into a room on their left. "You log onto that computer. I'll take the one over here. Anything suspicious, save it to disk. Do not touch or alter anything. We don't want the Covenant knowing that we're investigating their claim."  
  
"This isn't my first mission, Sydney," he joked, sitting down at the computer she pointed out.  
  
"I know. We just have to do this right. No screw-ups."  
  
"I promise. I'll be careful."  
  
She nodded and sat down at the other computer to begin sifting through files. After twenty minutes, she hadn't really come up with anything. She reached up to her earpiece and turned it on. "Any sign of trouble, Lauren?"  
  
"Nothing, Sydney. The coast is clear. Have you found anything?"  
  
"Not a thing. But I know there is something we can use, either in my search for Sark or at the very least in figuring out what they intend using your son for."  
  
Vaughn looked up from his screen. "I thought you said that his whole kidnapping was about getting to you."  
  
Sydney didn't look up for where she was typing, but she did respond to his comment. "I think it was. But I also have a nagging suspicion that the Covenant also wants your son. He wasn't that important to them now, which might have been why they were so willing to let him go in exchange for Sark. I think they'll try to capture him again someday, though."  
  
"Good to know. As if our life wasn't complicated enough," Lauren muttered. "I'll talk to you guys in another twenty minutes."  
  
Sydney reached up and clicked off the earpiece. Her eyes caught on something that was flashing on her screen. "Vaughn."  
  
"What's the matter, Sydney?"  
  
"I have good news for you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You are Tyler's father."  
  
Vaughn threw back his chair and raced over to Sydney's side. "What did you find?"  
  
"There's a folder on your son embedded into the hard drive. I'm copying it to disk. But it seems like the CIA was right. The Covenant combined your DNA and Emma Wallace's to create your son. And it looks like they do have interest in acquiring him."  
  
Vaughn nodded and pointed to the screen. "What's that?"  
  
Sydney looked at a flashing link. She clicked on it and a huge 'Denied Access' box popped up. "It's times like these I'm glad I got Marshall to teach me a few tricks." She kept up a continuous line of typing until one minute later the screen was flashing 'Access Granted'. "Now let's see what was so important they needed to put it under extra security."  
  
Both agents scanned through the document quickly.  
  
"Does that say what I think it does?" Vaughn asked, looking down at Sydney.  
  
She looked up at him with worry in her eyes. "Weiss isn't the only person working for the Covenant. Someone we're working with is also on their payroll. We have another mole." 


	9. Clues To The Next Step

There was a whole table full of people waiting for her in the other room, and Sydney had no idea how to face them. Currently her plan involved hiding in her bedroom for at least a few more days, and there was no reason coming up in her head to tell her that this might be the wrong choice. True, Vaughn had been trying to convince her for the past five minutes that if she didn't emerge soon, people would start to get suspicious and that included the mole.  
  
She and Vaughn mutually had agreed not to say anything about what they found in the hidden file to anyone else, including Lauren. They weren't sure of anything anymore it seemed. This is what the spy life had done to them.  
  
"Syd," Vaughn said for the millionth time. "Let's go."  
  
"Let's just hide in here for the rest of our lives," she suggested.  
  
"We can't hide."  
  
"I know." Sydney stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. "Am I going to be able to do this? To face the people who love me the most, knowing one of them is out to destroy my life?"  
  
Vaughn walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You can, and you will." He smiled at her and nodded towards the bedroom door. "Now let's go."  
  
Sydney tried to put on a brave face as she walked down the hall. She had been thinking non-stop about who the mole could be. And she hadn't gotten anywhere. The only people who were free of her suspicion were Vaughn, Irina, and Jack. These were the three people, excluding the man they were on a mission to find, she would never doubt in her life. A little file by the Covenant would not change that. Nothing imaginable could change that, and she refused to let it change her.  
  
She entered the room right behind Vaughn and just sat back to observe, grappling for any hint of someone being disloyal. It was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do.  
  
Marshall was deep in discussion with Will in the adjoining kitchen. From what Sydney could hear, they were debating whether the peanut butter should go on the top piece of bread or whether it should be the jelly. Watching them, it killed her to know that she had to suspect them.  
  
Will had been out of her life for a long time now. As much as she didn't want to admit it, anything could have happened in those years. His sister had joined the CIA. That made him a double target for both his past associations with Sydney and his blood-tie to Amy. Brainwashing was a definite option.  
  
Marshall, on the other hand, had no possibility of being brainwashed that she knew of. The CIA had tested him years ago, and his mental capacities were so great that his brain seemed to work at an accelerated speed. It was next to impossible to push thoughts into his head that he didn't want there. But that didn't absolve him from being the mole.  
  
He was an asset to any organization that could get their hands on him. Believe it or not, Marshall had always been a little bit of a lone gunman at times. He never really had any emotional ties, except for his mother. Mrs. Flinkman had passed away about fourteen months ago, or so Jack had told Sydney when she inquired how Marshall was doing at the time. So, his loyalties might have become a little knocked off.  
  
Sydney shook her head and tried not to start crying again. She kept telling herself that even though this was so hard, it was something she had to do. Quitting was not an option. It never really was.  
  
Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine what Julian would do if he was in this position. "Probably just kill them all," she joked to herself with a soft laugh.  
  
Vaughn had taken a seat next to his wife. Now she was a complete mystery. Sydney hadn't taken much time to get to know who Lauren was or where she came from for obvious reasons. The only flaw to her suspicion is that Vaughn trusted his wife with his life. He hadn't been too happy with that fact that Sydney demanded he not tell her what they uncovered.  
  
"But I remember how my father used to love my mother," Sydney thought to herself. "It was complete and absolute trust. And that was shattered." She looked over at the blonde woman sitting next to her old handler. Was Lauren Reed the type of woman to deceive her husband?  
  
Pushing that question to the back of her mind, she turned to look at where her two parents were talking rather civilly for a change. She hadn't had a spare moment to even inquire how their mission had gone. When she was trying to divide up the missions, she hadn't been sure if putting them together, alone, had been the right decision to make.  
  
They were both present at the meeting so they must not have tried to kill each other that much during the mission.  
  
Sydney caught eyes with Anna and tried to muster a brave smile. Anna was probably the person in the room she trusted the least. Which in its way was probably incredibly ironic. If Sark were present, Anna would be the person he trusted the most.  
  
The day Sark had explained to her that Anna and he had met in Russia when they were little was one of the strangest of her life. And one of the most fitting. Her two greatest adversaries had studied together, learned together. And they had loved.  
  
Anna was Sark's first real love.  
  
"Which, on top of the fact that she has almost killed me on numerous occasions, that is just another reason not to trust her," Sydney thought.  
  
Amy Tippin was a wildcard through and through. Sydney had been great friends with her when she had first become a double agent for the CIA, close enough to demand for her passport on a moment's notice when she needed to get back on Sloane's good side. But the contact between them had slowed down to a trickle over the years. She hadn't even known Amy was an agent.  
  
That was what made Amy so dangerous. It takes a certain type of person to put up with this life, let alone excel at it. And according to Vaughn and Dixon, Amy was excelling with the best of them. Dixon had joked that they were calling her the next Sydney Bristow, a not-so-easy title to acquire.  
  
"Then again, they thought Stephanie Conway was going to be as good as me. And we all know how that turned out."  
  
Something clicked in Sydney's head. Stephanie Conway. Traitor. As good as her. Amy.  
  
There was another connection to add to a million and a half why Amy was unpredictable. The Covenant might just be trying to recruit other agents using her like they had used Weiss to recruit Stephanie.  
  
"Are we going to get started?" Anna asked.  
  
Sydney glances up at the room and, more specifically, at Anna. It appeared as if Anna hadn't taken her eyes off of her this whole time she was scanning the room. She could chalk that up to spy training or file it away as another proof of guilt. "Yes. I'm glad to see that these missions weren't that dangerous to all of you."  
  
"I wouldn't say that," Irina said with a devilish smile. "We managed to get into a gun fight. Extremely exhilarating."  
  
"And people wonder why I have issues," Sydney said under her breath. She saw Vaughn smile out of the corner of her eye. Maybe she hadn't said that that softly. "Besides the gunfight, how did the rest of the mission go?"  
  
"We didn't get anything," Jack said. "It appears like the Venice facility doesn't have much of the Covenant's trust. We could barely find anything Covenant related in their systems."  
  
"And when we did, it was information that I was already aware of," Irina said. Thinking twice, she added, "And information the CIA knew about, too."  
  
Sydney nodded. "Vaughn and I made some headway, but nothing to do with finding Sark."  
  
"We found a folder the Covenant was compiling on my son," Vaughn added. "It confirmed that the Covenant spliced together my DNA and Emma Wallace's."  
  
"Sydney made a disk of the information they acquired," Lauren said, holding up the disk she had been flipping in her hands for the past few minutes. "I'm sure that Dixon will be extremely appreciative of this intel."  
  
"You know you kind of look like Emma," Anna said nonchalantly. Everyone turned to stare out her. "Well, she does."  
  
"The idea has come up before," Lauren answered through gritted teeth. "But no connections ever panned out. I would appreciate if you didn't bring that up again."  
  
Sydney looked at Vaughn in confusion. Why was Lauren reacting this badly to such a random comment? Vaughn shook his head to show he didn't have any more of an idea what was going on than she did.  
  
"Noted," Anna said with a sly smile. "No more mentions of your son's biological mother. Got it."  
  
The room filled with an uncomfortable silence as everyone seemed to struggle for words to say to break up the quiet. Finally, a ringing phone interrupted them. Jack reached into his pocket and pulled it out. "Bristow."  
  
After a few moments, he pulled the phone down and covered the mouthpiece. "I'm going to have to take this, Sydney. Excuse me."  
  
Sydney nodded and watched her father walk off into her office.   
  
"Sydney," Will said, drawing her attention back into the room. "I hate to be the one that points this out, but we didn't do so great either. That's three failed missions."  
  
"What are you trying to say?" she asked, not sure where he was going with his words.  
  
"You have to start entertaining the possibility that making we won't be able to find anything because there's nothing to find."  
  
"You think this whole thing is hopeless, don't you?" Sydney asked. "You think I'm wrong and that Sark is dead. Or maybe you just hope he is."  
  
"Sydney, calm down," Irina said right as Jack came back into the room and sat down next to her.  
  
"I will not calm down." She stopped up and walked over to stand directly in front of Will. "Is that what you're trying to say, Will?"  
  
"I'm still warming to the idea that you want us to help you find a known killer whom you claim to love, but that's not what I meant. I'm just saying that the outlook isn't too good. We all went to the main hot spots of Covenant activity, and not one of us found any sort of lead to go on."  
  
"Not necessarily," Amy said. Will looked over at her in shock along with every other person in the room. "I'm pretty sure he's alive."  
  
"You didn't mention this when we were on the mission or any other time before now," Will pointed out.  
  
"I wasn't sure I should, but since no else has any other leads, I think it's the best thing we have to go on."  
  
"What are you trying to say?" Sydney asked.  
  
"I think I saw Sark in Tokyo," she answered.  
  
"You think or you know?"  
  
"I know I saw him. Only he wasn't being held prisoner. He was walking around the facility as if he was just another employee. I just caught a quick glance of him. Anna and I happened to be a little preoccupied in a little healthy fist fighting, so there wasn't really much time to see where he went."  
  
"You could have made a mistake," Irina pointed out. "You could have wanted to see Sark so bad that you imagined his face onto another blond haired man's body."  
  
"I don't think so," Amy said. "First off, I could really care less about finding this guy. The only reason I'm helping is because Sydney obviously cares deeply for him. And secondly, as we continue to talk about it, I'm getting more and more positive that it was him I saw."  
  
"It doesn't make sense," Will pointed out.  
  
"I agree with Will," Jack said. "If you thought you had seen him, why didn't you tell Sydney the second you return?"  
  
"Shit! Why didn't you tell us when we were on the mission?" Will yelled at his sister. "We wouldn't have left Tokyo if we knew Sark was there. I'm never been Sark's biggest fan, but Sydney loves him. And that makes him a number one priority for me right now. And I wouldn't have left Tokyo without him if I knew he was there."  
  
Sydney felt her heart freeze a little. Will was showing the same loyalty and devotion she had always thought he had. And just a few minutes earlier, she had been sitting there, debating whether or not he would betray her to the Covenant.  
  
"When did you become super spy, Will?" Amy asked. He just scowled at her in return. "We couldn't have done anything, Sydney. If he had realized I saw him, he would have immediately left the city. Because I told no one, he's probably still there. And now you have time to go back and investigate yourself."  
  
"There's one problem," Anna said.  
  
Sydney noticed for the first time that Anna hadn't been talking at all since she upset Lauren. If she was really once Sark's best friend, why wasn't she upset that she had been in the same room with him and Amy hadn't told her?  
  
Anna continued, "If you said that you saw Sark, then obviously he must have seen you."  
  
"You were stirring up a lot of attention with your fighting in the middle of the lobby," Marshall pointed out.  
  
"You were in the middle of the lobby?" Sydney asked. "Never mind. I don't think I want to know the details. Continue, Anna."  
  
"If Sark had seen us, then why didn't he realize we were there searching for him? He might not have known who Amy was, but he knows me."  
  
"That's a good point," Sydney said. Sighing, she stood up. "But there's nothing else we have to go on right now. I think we should go to Tokyo."  
  
"I can't," Anna said out right. "I have some business engagements already set up."  
  
"It's all right," Sydney said. "You do what you have to do. I'll keep you posted if we find anything. I know how much Julian means to you."  
  
"Thank you." Anna stood up and grabbed her bag. "I hate to leave so abruptly, but honestly, I think the less I know about your future plans, the better. For your sake."  
  
Sydney nodded and turned her attention back to the group. "We're all tired after our missions. I want everyone to go get some sleep. Let the information sink in, and tomorrow we'll get back to work."  
  
Everyone grumbled their approval and began to get up to leave. Sydney motioned for Vaughn to follow her into the other room. He whispered something in his wife's ear to make her nod and head for the exit with the rest of the people present.  
  
"What did you tell her?" Sydney asked when she and Vaughn were alone in her penthouse.  
  
"I just said that you seemed to be wavering in your confidence. Time for another pep talk, you know?"  
  
"That might be closer to the truth than you think. I really thought that I'd be able to tell which one of those people are lying to me, but I can't."  
  
"Have you narrowed it down at all?"  
  
"Well, you'll be happy to know that you're not a suspect still. Neither are my parents. And I've eliminated Anna. There's no possible way it could be her."  
  
"Why is that?" he asked, thoroughly confused.  
  
"The Covenant might not be the smartest organization out there, but they're intelligent enough to pick the right person to infiltrate our little operation. Anna is the obvious choice for a mole. She's the one that seems to have the least loyalty to me. But that's the exact reason I know she's not working with the Covenant."  
  
"Because you don't trust her, what benefit is she going to provide them?" Vaughn reasoned.  
  
"Exactly. I'm not going to divulge extra information to her, even if I knew everyone was loyal to me. No matter what happens down the road, I'm always going to know her first as my adversary. The lack of trust that created can't really be repaired."  
  
"So, it's not Anna. Did you eliminate anyone else?"  
  
"No, not completely. I'm starting to get a hunch that it can't be Marshall, but I have no real reason to back that up."  
  
"Keep thinking, Syd. But don't try to over think it." Vaughn sighed and stood up. "And I'll keep an eye on Lauren. I still don't think she has any part in this, but until you figure out the same thing, I'll make sure she doesn't do anything suspicious. I don't think she has any idea what really went on in Seattle. So if she is the mole, she won't be acting too careful around me."  
  
"It means a lot to me that you're doing this, Michael."  
  
"Like I've said a million times, I will always love you, Syd. That will never change no matter how much trouble you get me into."  
  
Sydney let out a laugh as he stepped into the elevator and the doors shut on him. She walked over to a painting and slid it out of the way. Tapping in a nine-digit security code, she hauled open the safe door that was hiding behind the picture. She reached her hand in and pulled out the ring Sark had given her a few weeks earlier.  
  
"I'm coming, Julian. You just hold on. I'm coming." 


	10. Suggestion

Amy knocked softly on Sydney's bedroom door the next morning. Everyone had come stumbling in with their half-asleep looks and morning coffees in the past fifteen minutes, and Amy didn't want any of them hearing what she had to ask Sydney. She really didn't want anyone to know about the crazy request she was about to make.  
  
"Come in," she heard from behind the door.  
  
She pushed the door open and smiled to see Sydney sitting in bed, surrounded by mounds of papers. She had obviously been up half the night working on research. "Did you sleep at all?"  
  
"Not really," Sydney said with a smile, pulling off the glasses she wore. "It's a little hard without him here beside me."  
  
Amy was thrown back a little. It was hard adjusting to the amount of love Sydney had developed for a man she had never met, but only hear of. She had heard non-stop from both her brother and her handler about how this was the kind of guy she would run in to when she was out in the field. He wouldn't hesitate to use her or even kill her to further his plans. And this was the man Sydney loved.  
  
"What's up?" Sydney asked.  
  
"I had a small idea last night. It was too late to tell you about it then. Though you probably wouldn't have been sleeping by the looks of this room. Anyway, I wanted to throw it past you, and maybe give you some of the reasons why I think it's our only option."  
  
"Go ahead." She motioned to the papers surround her. 'Because none of this stuff is really that good."  
  
"Obviously, you're going to leave for Tokyo sometime today."  
  
"Obviously."  
  
"I want you to take Will with you."  
  
"What?" She shook her head. "There is no way I'm taking Will to Tokyo with me. He's a civilian. He's never had any field training. This is the kind of thing I spent years protecting him from. And it's just too dangerous."  
  
"You keep forgetting that Will knows his way around the spy world. He spent quite a few years working as an analyst with the CIA before he got back to journalism a few months ago. He isn't as naïve as everyone makes him out to be." Amy took a deep breath and kept talking. "Now I know you love Will as much as I do, Syd. And you want to protect him. But I think he would be an asset to you. I've been in that building. It's chock full of Covenant agents ready and waiting to kill you at the blink of an eye."  
  
"Not convincing me here, Amy," Sydney said, leaning back onto the headboard of the bed.  
  
"All I'm saying is these Covenant agents have probably seen both you and Vaughn in action firsthand. They know you. There's no way you're not going to Tokyo. That's not even an option."  
  
"Damn right, it isn't."  
  
Amy sat down next to Sydney. "I just thought it might be better if you left the other person who might get recognized out of it."  
  
"You want me to leave Vaughn here in New York?" Sydney asked, shocked. "You are acting so strange."  
  
Amy smiled. "I'm always acting strange. You know that! And I wasn't telling you to leave Vaughn in New York. I know that he's probably the one person here who you trust the most." She held up her hand when she saw Sydney begin to object. "It's not an insult, Syd. He is my handler. I know how dependable he can be. Which is why I think you should give him that job. Keep him on comms and in your center of operations. Worst comes to it, he can come in and save my brother's sorry bum."  
  
Sydney smiled at her old friend. "Does he give you the pep talks, too?"  
  
"All the time. It's so annoying."  
  
"But nice."  
  
"Yeah, but nice." Amy paused. "So are you going to take my advice?"  
  
"I don't see the benefit of taking Will instead of you or getting Anna to come back. Or even taking Marshall! Marshall's been on a few missions before."  
  
"You're actually contemplating bringing Marshall over my brother? Come on, Syd. It's not like Will's a complete amateur. He might not have gone on any official CIA-sanctioned missions. But he did go with you to that hotel in Warsaw... and held up his own, I might add."  
  
"You wouldn't say that if you had heard his accent."  
  
"That bad?"  
  
"Worse." Sydney sighed and got up off the bed. "All right. I'll take Will. Now let's see what exactly everyone's come up with in terms of mission strategy. We have the players. We just don't have a plan."  
  
Amy stood up and followed Syd out into the other room.  
  
"Hi, everyone," she said with a small smile.  
  
"You look like hell," Will said from his seat.  
  
"And thank you, Will, for being the every present source of my joy." She shook her head. "Makes me want to rethink my decision to take you with me to Tokyo."  
  
Will spit coffee out as he choked. "You're taking me with you to Tokyo? Where'd you get that crazy idea?" Something clicked in his head. "Amy, what did you do?"  
  
"I didn't do anything, Will," she lied.  
  
"You're taking Will?" Vaughn asked Sydney directly.  
  
"It makes sense. And I need you and Lauren to come, too. As backup and as our mission handlers."  
  
Vaughn nodded and relaxed. He was just satisfied that she was taking him. There was still a lot for him to make up for. Getting Sark back would be the first step in the apologizing process. Plus he was just happy to be going with her in some form. No matter what had changed, knowing she was out there risking her life would still keep him up at night.  
  
"So?" Sydney said, turning to the group as a whole. "Does anyone have any ideas?" No one answered her. "Someone must have thought of something."  
  
"I have a few contacts in Tokyo," Jack said. "They could get you fitted with munitions or any other gear you may need."  
  
"I'm going to need some climbing ropes and a few rappelling clips."  
  
"And why would that be?" Jack asked, suspicious already.  
  
"I had a phone conversation with Anna last night. She gave me a few routes of escape or entry if I need them. One of them involves a little drop."  
  
Jack nodded, wishing he hadn't asked her what they were for. He had come to realize through the years that, with Sydney, no information was better than just some. In fact, no information was better than any information.  
  
"What is Anna up to?" Irina asked.  
  
"She has a few things of her own she's working on, like I said before. Though she was definitely interested in what we talked about Mom."  
  
Vaughn squinted his eyes at Sydney. "What is going on that we don't know about?"  
  
"Nothing," Sydney said. "Trust me. You don't want to know. It would only compromise your objectivity to this mission."  
  
She stood up and scanned the faces in the room again. "Okay. Here's how it's going to go. I need Marshall to go over the op tech and create aliases if they are needed. Vaughn, Lauren, and Will, you all get ready to leave in about five hours."  
  
"I can watch out for Tyler," Marshall interjected. "While you're gone, that is."  
  
"Thank you, Marshall," Lauren replied.  
  
"Dad, I need you to return to Los Angeles. Let Dixon know how things are going. Make sure he knows that this whole thing isn't actually happening or at least it's not happening for the CIA to know about. The last thing I need is the government swooping and running everything. Amy, go with him. It's too risky for me to take you with us to Tokyo. You're an active agent with the CIA. And I'm sure they're missing your presence at the Agency. Word on the street is that you might be as good as me one of these days if you keep working at it."  
  
Amy nodded. "If there's anything I can do..."  
  
"I'll let you know. Thanks. You've been great through all this."  
  
"What should I be doing while you're running around Tokyo?" Irina asked.  
  
Sydney handed her a card. "This is Anna's number. Call her. There are some things you two need to discuss."  
  
Irina smiled at her daughter. "Thank you, Sydney."  
  
Sydney hugged her mother and whispered in her ear, "If you can't have the first and second best agents, the third one isn't too shabby."  
  
Irina laughed. She had always considered her daughter and Sydney's chosen lover to be the two best spies in the world, but it was funny to hear her daughter actually admit it. It was nice to know that some of her own self- confidence had worn off on Sydney at some point the past few years.

Elsewhere...  
  
Sark heard his cell phone ringing in the other room. Cursing, he got up from in front of his laptop and went to pick it up.  
  
"What?" he hissed.  
  
"Everything's set up. It took a little persuading but it seems like everything's in place," said the voice on the other end.  
  
"And she doesn't suspect you at all?" Sark asked.  
  
"Sydney Bristow is a smart woman. I wouldn't put anything past here. But honestly I don't think she picked up the fact that I was setting a few keys points into place. Do you have the plans straight for when she arrives at the facility?"  
  
"Simple. I find her. I kill her. Problem solved. Now don't call me again." Sark snapped the phone shut before the other party could get a word in edgewise. He flung the phone onto the table in front of him and went back to his work in the other room. There were things to be done before the events of tomorrow.


	11. Struggle

Sydney stared in awe at the streets of Tokyo. She had been here once before, and it just amazed her at how different the culture was in comparison to the United States. For instance, at that moment, she was standing on a street corner at four in the morning with a man next to her. There were no cars in sight. If she were back home, she wouldn't hesitate to cross the street. However, in Japan, no one would dare to break that law. You had to wait until the little sign said it was okay to walk no matter how slow traffic was.  
  
"Funny," she thought to herself. "We're in a place that is so law-abiding and proper, and yet nothing has gone right for us yet."  
  
The four of them hadn't been in Tokyo for more than an hour, and they were pretty much on their own. It turned out that Taki Asako, Jack's munitions contact, had been killed in a car accident a week earlier. When they had arrived at Asako's apartment, it was pretty much ransacked.  
  
Luckily, Sydney was able to find the location of one of his many storage facilities. It was almost completely wiped clean. But there was the climbing rope, carabineers, and hand brake she had requested. So all wasn't lost.  
  
Sydney snapped out of her little recap as she saw the man next to her begin to cross the street out of the corner of her eye. She reached up and clicked on her earpiece. "Vaughn, are you there?"  
  
"Lauren and I are right here, Syd."  
  
"Good. Just wanted to make sure the equipment was working. I'm going to go radio silent for now. Make sure you can override it, though. I want to hear your voices in my ear if anything goes wrong."  
  
"You got it."  
  
Sydney put her hand up to click her ear piece off, but instead of doing just that, she switched to a private channel. "Vaughn, keep acting normal. I just wanted to let you know that I think the Covenant might be setting us up."  
  
She got no response, just like she expected. But after a moment, she heard him excuse himself from Lauren's presence. "What the hell are you talking about, Syd?" he asked once he had gotten a safe distance away.  
  
"Marshall hasn't contacted us at all, right?"  
  
"Yes. We all agreed that that meant he thought we didn't need aliases for this one."  
  
"Yes, we all agreed on that reason when we were together. But I was lying. I mean, don't you find it a little odd that he didn't contact us to say we didn't need aliases? Because I do. Marshall's an incredibly thorough man. There's no way he would have let us go into this mission with some kind of contact. I think the Covenant knows we're coming. They blocked all transmissions from the CIA to us. Marshall has probably been contacting us. We just don't know it."  
  
"You think the mole is behind this?"  
  
"I know the mole is behind this. I just wanted you to know that it was probably going to be a set-up. But I can handle it."  
  
"Any new clues as to who it might be?"  
  
"I'm still as confused as ever. I can't imagine any of my friends betraying me like that."  
  
"Weiss did," Vaughn pointed out. "And so did Francie. Though it actually wasn't the real Francie."  
  
"Are you saying that I encourage my friends to betray me?" she asked with a laugh.  
  
"Well, it does happen a lot, Syd," he teased.  
  
"That is not funny. And need I remind you we're on a mission, Agent Vaughn."  
  
She could hear him sober up on the other end. "So how are you going to get around the fact that the Covenant is expecting you?"  
  
"I'm the best there is at what I do. Plus, I have a little deviation from the plan which should throw the Covenant off a step or two."  
  
"Be careful, Syd."  
  
"I will. Going radio silent for real this time." She clicked off the earpiece just as she saw Will sitting on a bench in front of her. "Hey."  
  
Will continued to look out into the horizon. "I bet you've seen sunrises in every country in the world, haven't you?"  
  
Sydney looked out at where the sky was a deep pink and orange. "Probably. But it doesn't mean I can't still appreciate one when I see it. So, are you ready to do this?"  
  
"No. But it looks like I have no choice." Will sighed and stood up.  
  
"Nope," she said with a smile. She led him down an alley that was right behind the bench he was sitting on.  
  
The path they took twisted and turned into more alleys. They walked without saying a word for at least five minutes before Sydney held her hand up, and they stopped in their tracks.  
  
"This is it," she said with a sly smile.  
  
"This is what? It looks like we're in a laundromat." The alleyway had opened up into a large area of sheets hanging up to dry. It looked like someone's backyard during the middle of summer in the alleyways of Tokyo.  
  
"This is how we're going to get into that building."  
  
Will looked up and saw that they were indeed in front of a tall building. "Is that where they're holding Sark?"  
  
"Yes, it is." Sydney smiled at him. "Now you're going to stay here. If I'm not back in an hour, go get Vaughn."  
  
"Wait a minute!" Will yelled. "You're leaving me here?"  
  
"There's been a change of plans. I'm going in alone. It'll be a lot less risky."  
  
Before Will had a chance to argue some more, Sydney disappeared into the hanging sheets.  
  
"Great," he muttered. He noticed out of the corner of his eye there was a woman hanging laundry. "Do you need any help? Because it looks like I'm going to be here for a while."  
  
Sydney made sure that she had truly lost Will before she ducked out of the sheets and back into the alley. She thanked whoever was listening that it was a slightly windy and cloudy day. Otherwise, Will might have noticed that they were a good two blocks around from the Tokyo Building of NTT Do Co Mo. For his own safety, she wanted him as far off from their true destination as she could manage.  
  
Gritting her teeth, she began to sprint down the still abandoned streets. She wanted every possible second she could get to search for Sark. There was a nagging feeling in the bottom of her gut that if she didn't find him today, her chances of ever finding him wouldn't be that good.  
  
She flung open the door to the office building that neighbored the Tokyo Building and quickly made her way to the first elevator she could find. She picked the 37th floor at random and bit her fingernails as the car slowly rose up to the selected floor.  
  
Trying to act like she was supposed to be in the building, she made her way to the first vacant office with a balcony she could find on the north side of the building. Sliding open the door, she let herself outside onto the balcony and reached into her pack.  
  
This had been the reason why she demanded to have a rope and a hand brake. The Covenant might know she was coming, but they didn't know how discreet she could be when she wanted to. In her mind, she figured with all her previous mission experience, this should be a walk in the park. Now that she actually had to do it, she was beginning to have her doubts.  
  
Once the hand brake was properly placed, she used a jettison pack Marshall had whipped up for her real quick before he left Manhattan to propel the rope over onto the side of the next building. That building just happened to be the Tokyo building.  
  
Praying that she had assembled it properly, she let her weight fling her over into the side of the other building. The impact was not quite as bad as she had imagined, although the glass on the window did crack a little upon contact. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the small glasscutter she had found in her office back in the penthouse.  
  
"Thank god I never throw things away," she said to herself as she went to work cutting the glass.  
  
Within a minute, she had extracted a circle of glass big enough to fit her whole body through. She slid through the hole and disengaged the rope. It fell all thirty-six stories onto the pavement below.  
  
"Okay, that's done," she said as she turned to survey the office she had landed herself in. "Now I just have to find my fiancé without running into one of the thousands of agents in this building who would just love to kill me. Simple."  
  
Taking a deep breath, she let herself out into the hallway and took a look around. It didn't appear like there was anyone else on the floor. She let her guard down slightly and turned the corner only to be grabbed from behind.  
  
A hand came over her mouth, preventing her from screaming, as a familiar voice echoed in her ear. "It's nice to see you again, Agent Bristow."  
  
Sydney almost choked in surprise. She really hadn't expected it to be that easy. Shrugging herself out of his grip, she turned to face him and flung her arms around her neck. Feeling the weight of his body holding hers up almost made her want to forget where she was and just melt into him.  
  
The moment would have been perfect if she didn't feel something pressing hard into her left side. She looked down to see that Sark held a gun. "What are you doing, Sark?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"What I'm always doing. My job."  
  
"This isn't funny, Julian. Put the gun down. We need to get you out of here before the Covenant realizes that you're loose from wherever they had you pent up."  
  
"I'm not going anywhere with you, Agent Bristow. And the Covenant does not have me pent up."  
  
"Stop calling me that. You haven't used that term in years. Honestly, you need to cut the crap right now before this situation gets any worse." She had a nagging feeling in the back of her head of what was really going on. But no one could have forced her to admit it. It was just too horrible a concept to even entertain the thought of it being true. "There's no way that Sark could have forgotten what-- No. No way," she thought.  
  
Sark looked at her with a confused face. "Why are you acting so strange?"  
  
"Why are you acting so strange?" When she saw him smirk, something snapped. "I swear to god, if you think this is funny, I will take back the promise I made you and kick your ass all the way out of this building. I don't care who notices."  
  
"When did you promise not to hurt me, Sydney? That seemed like your specialty last time I checked."  
  
Sydney ignored the gun and walked toward him. "Did the Covenant do something to you, Julian?"  
  
He lowered the gun but still kept his finger on the trigger. "If you call taking all my money and then forcing me to work for them, then yes, they did."  
  
"That was years ago. I meant since you were taken by Weiss and Conway."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about? Weiss is your little co-worker, not mine. And I don't know who the hell this Conway guy is."  
  
"Stephanie Conway is a woman. You know that. What is wrong with you?" Her face suddenly paled when the realization hit her that what she hadn't been able to admit to herself might be happening thirty seconds earlier did seem to be what was going on . "You don't remember what's happened, do you? The Covenant did something to you."  
  
"I think I would have known if the Covenant played with my brain. Why are you so concerned for me? The last I checked you would have given up everything just to be able to put a bullet between my eyes."  
  
"I love you, Julian. You know that."  
  
Her heart stopped as he broke out laughing. "You're joking, right?" he said. That was when he noticed the hurt expression that was on her face. "You're not joking. You actually love me. Well, this is all the sudden a twisted little game we're playing, now isn't it?"  
  
"I have loved you since that day you saved me in Rio. You do remember Rio, don't you?" His face stayed blank as her eyes pleaded with him to remember something. Anything. "You know Rio de Janeiro? The hole we fell into? Or the months I stayed with you in your flat in London? Nothing?"  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
"Julian, you and I have been living together for the past two years."  
  
Sark raised the gun up in her face again. "If this is your pathetic attempt to distract me so that you can escape, it's not working. You used to be really good at lying to me and leading me on. But you've gotten rusty in the past few years, Sydney. Your lies aren't even good anymore."  
  
Sydney kept her eyes focused on his and not the gun. "You're actually going to shoot me?"  
  
"That was the plan."  
  
Sydney nodded and, without a thought, kicked him hard in the gut. He doubled over in pain, effectively lowering his guard and the gun. Before he realized it, she had him pressed up against the wall with one hand pinned under him and the other twisted behind his back. "You listen to me. I don't know what the hell the Covenant did to you, but I need you to stop pointing that gun at me. Can you do that?" When he didn't respond, she twisted his arm a little harder.  
  
"Fine. I promise to neither point the gun nor shoot you."  
  
Sydney eased her hold on him. He took full advantage of that and slammed her back into the opposite wall. "I didn't promise not to hurt you, though. I know how much you love the pain."  
  
Sark was thrown off as he saw tears begin to well up in Sydney's eyes. He let go of her and backed away a few steps. "Bloody hell. You really do care about me, don't you?"  
  
"Yes," she said as she turned to face him. "The Covenant must have taken away your memories of me. I lost you two weeks ago in an explosion in Miami. We were on a mission to save Tyler Vaughn."  
  
"Your boyfriend's son?" Sark asked astonished.  
  
"Once again, Vaughn has not been my boyfriend for a long time. That has actually been your role for quite some time now."  
  
"I can't believe you actually fell in love with me. Last I checked, I couldn't even get you to be my partner."  
  
"That's how this whole thing started, me being your partner." Sydney paused as she realized what he had just said. "Does this mean you believe me that the Covenant took away your memories?"  
  
"No. It just intrigues me. I want to know if you can actually come up with something to convince me. I'll let you in on a secret. It isn't really working yet."  
  
"What did the Covenant tell you about where you've been the past three years?"  
  
"I was on a special assignment. They had to wipe my memories clean so that I could still function as an agent. It's not an uncommon procedure."  
  
"That sounds like a rather shady cover-up to me," Sydney pointed out. "I mean, did they ever give you anything besides that? Or were you just stupid to accept that they had to wipe out three years of your life for security reasons? The Sark I knew would never accept that."  
  
"I'm not saying I accept that either. It's just a convenient answer for me at this moment."  
  
"What have you done to prove it's true? You can't just be sitting around. You have to be doing something."  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're beginning to annoy me. And when I get annoyed, my trigger finger gets a little jumpy."  
  
"You promised you wouldn't shoot me."  
  
"There are many other ways to kill you other than shooting."  
  
"Is that what you grabbed me for? You're supposed to kill me?"  
  
"That was the original assignment."  
  
"What's the assignment now?"  
  
"I think it's still the same. Although a few things aren't right in this scenario. Where's your partner?"  
  
"My partner is indisposed right now. Let's just leave it at that." Sydney held her arms up. "Well, if you're going to kill me, we might as well get it over with."  
  
She closed her eyes and waited for the impact of the bullet. After a few minutes of standing there with nothing happening, she hesitantly opened her eyes. "What's wrong? I thought you were supposed to kill me. I mean, isn't that what your precious little bosses want? Do you even know who's running the Covenant now?"  
  
"Stop asking me questions," Sark demanded.  
  
Sydney smirked and walked right up into his face. "I have a little news for you, Sark. The Covenant might have done a good mind wipe on you, but they couldn't do anything about this." She poked him hard in the chest. "I don't think you could kill me even if that's what you really wanted."  
  
"Who's saying that's not what I want?"  
  
"Come on. There has never been a time during the period we've known each other where I ever thought you actually wanted to kill me. Sleep with me, yes. Kill me, no."  
  
Sark smirked at her. "Well, you're a lovely woman. Any warm-blooded man would want to get you into his bed."  
  
"And you've had me there many a time," she said, smirking right back at him.  
  
"So we're at an impasse." Sark said.  
  
"I guess so." Sydney sighed and took the gun out of his hands. "Let's get rid of that." She tossed it down the hall. "You might not remember it, Julian, but my life has revolved around you for a long time now. And I have been your whole life for almost as long. My mother always told me that you only have one great love your whole life. I thought I screwed that one up years ago. There have been four great men in my life whom I've loved with all my heart. And I hurt each one of them. It's only after I really got to know you that I realized my mother was right. A person does only get one great love. And for me, that's you. You see, it just took me a while to find you."  
  
"Nice speech. Have you been practicing that one?" he asked.  
  
Sydney's heart stung. It wasn't easy getting used to the old, snarky, mean Sark that she hadn't thought she'd ever see again. Sighing, she looked him straight in the eye. "I have a proposition for you. We both know that you don't want to be working for the Covenant. The only reason you're here is because you think they still have the money you inherited. Well, they don't. Together, you and I got that back over ten months ago. Legally, I might add. So you really have no reason to stay."  
  
"What's your point?"  
  
"I want to offer you a partnership. Come back with me. Give me a chance to actually convince you that I'm telling the truth. And at the very least, it's where the money you so desperately want is located."  
  
"What's in it for you?"  
  
"Two things. One, you mentioned something to me right before the Covenant got a hold of you in Miami. There's something going down with them, and the Sark I knew had some information he wasn't telling me. I need that information."  
  
"And two?"  
  
Sydney grabbed the back of his head and ground her lips into his with a passion. She could feel his arms unconsciously come up around her. Knowing she had him hook, line, and sinker, she pulled back. "And two, I kind of missed being able to do that whenever I wanted. That and the way you had such horrible bed hair in the morning."  
  
Chuckling, Sydney began walking down the hall a few steps before turning around to see that Sark hadn't moved a muscle since she had kissed him. "So are you coming?"  
  
"Will you be doing that a lot?"  
  
"Probably. I mean, the man I'm in love with is still in there somewhere. I think I'll have to be doing that a lot to keep reminding you that you need to try to get your memory back."  
  
He smirked at her as he began walking towards where she had stopped. "What the hell then! Things could be a lot worse than this, and I'm intrigued. I'm in."  
  
Nodding, she grabbed his hands and dragged him down the hall to the nearest stairwell. "Hope the Covenant keeps you in good shape. Because we were talking quite a long time in that hallway. They probably know I'm here."  
  
On cue, there were gunshots from above beginning to fall down upon them. "You know it's not a real date between you and I until someone starts shooting at us," Sydney said as they plastered themselves against the wall to momentarily get out of the way of the bullets.  
  
Together, Sydney and Sark rushed down all thirty-six flights of stairs, dodging ricochet bullets the whole time. When they reached the door leading out into the lobby, Sydney quickly pulled him up against the wall. "We need to get out that door, no matter what. Don't stop."  
  
"Are you scared that I'm lying to you? That I might just shoot you in the back when we get out there?" he whispered into her ear.  
  
The familiarity of his voice so close to her sent shivers down her spine. She tried to shake it off and focus on what she had to do to get them out of the building. "That just makes it all the more fun," she said with a devilish grin. She let go of him and launched herself out into the lobby.  
  
Sark smiled to himself and followed her out. He had never seen Sydney Bristow act this fearless and happy before. Even if she was lying to him about where he had been the past three years, something had definitely changed in her. She was actually fun.  
  
He almost stopped halfway across the lobby as he realized why her behavior was so familiar to him. She was acting just as if he would in the same situation. Whether or not they were actually in love, it suddenly wasn't hard for him to believe that they had spent some amount of time together during his lost time.  
  
When they were a few blocks away from the Tokyo building, Sydney finally slowed down and motioned for him to go into the nearest shop. Smiling at him, she reached up to turn her earpiece on. "Vaughn. I got him. We're heading home. I'll talk to you when we're back in the penthouse."  
  
"Good job, Syd," she heard him say on the other line.  
  
"Do you have Will with you?" Lauren asked.  
  
"Um… actually, it's a long story. But one of you are going to have to go to the back entrance of the Ho Chi Cleaners and tell Will that the mission's over."  
  
"I'm not even going to ask," Vaughn said with a laugh.  
  
Sydney clicked her earpiece off. "Now tell me why you really decided to come with me."  
  
"The Covenant thought that you were important in whatever's coming up. If they really don't have my money, there was no point in me staying and helping them gather information that I could just get and use myself."  
  
"So, you want to use me to get ahead in the spy world?" she said, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"Would you expect anything more of me?"  
  
"Actually, I would have expected more. You're not exactly the same ruthless person you once were."  
  
"Don't tell me that we have a suburban house with a white picket fence and two point five kids and a dog named Fido."  
  
"Do I look like the girl that would have a dog named Fido?" Sydney rolled her eyes and started to walk. Sark jogged a little to catch up to her. "You and I have a Manhattan penthouse which we both work out of. We have a normal life. It's something that we both wanted."  
  
"I don't think I've ever wanted a normal life."  
  
"You did… once." Sydney trailed off as she began to realize how difficult a situation she had been put into. It had taken her so long to get Sark to soften up a little and admit that he loved her. In fact, she had almost died trying to get him to do just that. She was pretty sure that she didn't want to go through all that again.  
  
But in the back of her mine, she realized she would. She would give anything to set her life right.  
  
It was all due to the simple fact that she believed in him. She believed that somehow together they could set things right. She had been willing to give up everything to find him, and now that she had, she wasn't about to accept defeat just because the Covenant toyed with his head a little. She wasn't the kind of person to accept defeat that easily.  
  
She looked over at the man who didn't seem to know her at all. There was so much to tell him about what was between them. The only thing she was regretting was having to tell him that his little sister had been killed. The Sark standing next to her wouldn't be so happy to hear that Lina had been killed to save Sydney's life.  
  
No, she was not looking forward to that at all. 


	12. Figuring Things Out

Weiss recognized the incoming number as his cell phone began to ring. "Give me good news," he said once he picked up the phone.  
  
"I don't have any. It seems that Sydney deviated from the original plan she told everyone."  
  
"What went wrong?"  
  
"It was fine in the beginning. I made sure that Marshall's communications were blocked so they couldn't get proper aliases. That should have been enough to get her and whoever was her partner spotted the second they walked into the building."  
  
"So what happened?" Weiss said. He looked up to see Stephanie looking at him with concern from the doorway. He rolled his eyes and shook his head no.  
  
"She managed to get to Sark by herself."  
  
"She wasn't with her partner!" Weiss screamed into his phone. "I thought I told you that she couldn't be alone with Sark. Sydney Bristow is too good at spinning words to her benefit."  
  
"I know. I screwed up."  
  
"Yeah. You're lucky that you still have some use, or else I would have Stephanie kill you right now."  
  
"How is your lovely girl, boss?"  
  
"None of your concern." Weiss slammed the phone down onto the table, effectively cutting off the call.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Sark didn't finish his mission. Sydney's still alive."  
  
"Well, there's always next time. I mean, I doubt Sydney would be willing to kill Sark to save herself. She's become too engrossed in love to keep a clear head when it comes to him." Stephanie looked over at her boyfriend and heard him cursing softly under his breath. "What?"  
  
"That's not possible. You see, the idiot actually allowed Sydney to walk away with Sark. He's not in our possession anymore."  
  
Stephanie tried to think quickly. "But he still doesn't have his memory of the past three years. Sydney doesn't have it in here to deal with all the frustration that's going to cause. They'll have a fight, and because he doesn't know any better, he'll coming running back straight into our open arms. Simple."  
  
"Nothing is that simple when you're dealing with Sydney. You should know that by now, Stephanie."

* * *

Sydney stared at Sark as he was reading a book on the small jet the CIA had commissioned to take them home from Tokyo. They hadn't spoken since he had agreed to go with her. Unless she wanted to count when she handed him a change of clothes and instructed him to get comfortable on their flight home.  
  
She had been staring at him for over an hour now, trying to find some little flicker that the old Sark was in there somewhere. But all she could see was the old brutally mean Sark that she would have loved to kill.  
  
"Would you stop watching me?" Sark hissed from behind the pages of his book.  
  
"You know, this always used to make you mad. Me staring at you."  
  
"Do you honestly think that introducing these little reminiscent memories into casual conversation is going to trigger anything about the years you claim I've lost?"  
  
"Do you honestly believe that your sharp retorts are going to hurt me enough to send me off whimpering and licking my wounds?"  
  
"You're a lot harsher than I remember, Sydney," he said. She was slightly thrown off by a hint of sadness and regret in his voice.  
  
"You're the one that does this to me. I've never really acted completely normal when I'm around you, before or after we got romantically involved. You have this way of making me act all different."  
  
"A lot of women have told me that." He noticed the slight look of hurt in Sydney's eyes at the mention of other women. It didn't surprise him. What surprised him was there was a sudden protective urge inside of him to go comfort her since she was hurting. "Where did that come from?" he thought to himself, shaking his head.  
  
"Something the matter?" Sydney asked.  
  
"Nothing at all." Sark turned to stare out the window, away from her demanding eyes.  
  
"I find that hard to believe. Do you want me to tell you what's the matter?"  
  
"What?" he asked, turning back to her. Something definitely hadn't changed between the two of them through the years. She still intrigued him completely.  
  
"You don't remember what we had. But it's still coming naturally to you." He looked at her skeptically. "Seriously. I've always been a great judge of body language. Whenever you've said something hurtful to me, you were thrown off by seeing your words affect me. It unsettles you, which is why you kept trying to end the conversation and the need to make eye contact with me. In all the time I've known you, the only time you want out of a situation is when it unsettles you."  
  
"Wouldn't you be unsettled by the fact that the most frustrating woman in the world is suddenly claiming she's your soul mate?"  
  
Sydney got up out of her seat across the aisle and sat down in the chair next to him. "You're not just unsettled by all the things I've told you." She reached her hand up to the back of his neck and lightly ran her fingers up and down his spine. "You're unsettled by the fact that you're attracted to me."  
  
"I'm about as attracted to you as I would be to any other pretty woman," he said, trying to shrug away from her hand.  
  
She slid over from the chair she had just sat down in and placed herself in his lap with her legs straddling him. She leaned towards him and, in a throaty whisper, asked, "Is that so?"  
  
Sark knew that the correct response, the one he was searching for so desperately, was just to push her off his lap and back down into the chair next to him. That was the perfect solution.  
  
Which is why he was so confused when he felt his hands trailed slowly up her body until they were rested against her cheeks. He took one deep look into her eyes before she moved in to touch her lips lightly to his.   
  
The second their lips touched, both of them realized they had unleashed something that neither one could harness. It was as if someone had let loose massive floodgates they had been using to dam up their emotions. They just exploded.  
  
Sark tried not to focus on the familiarity of the situation as Sydney plunged her hands up under his t-shirt and onto bare skin. He had always imagined that she was a minx in bed, but he had never actually believed he'd get to see it in action. With a laugh, he realized if what she was trying to convince him was true, he probably knew this already.  
  
Sydney ignored the small laugh that escaped his lips and tried to focus on the desire she saw in his eyes. She knew that he didn't really love her at this point, or at least he didn't remember he did. If they were going to sleep together, it was just going to be mindless sex. It wouldn't mean anything to him.  
  
It surprised her that she didn't even care.  
  
Sark felt her hands scrap down his chest and begin to unfasten the zipper of his pants. He reached up and pulled her shirt over her head, wanting to finally be able to see what the real Sydney Bristow looked like. He looked into her eyes and saw vulnerability mixed with pure desire reflected back.  
  
Which was why he was able to push her away.  
  
"What's the matter?" she asked breathlessly as she pushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.  
  
"I might not have the best morals in the world, Sydney. But I think you deserve more than this." She looked at him confused. "All this would be is sex. There's no love between us, at least not from my end. You've been jerked around in the past by the men in your life. I don't want to do the same thing to you."  
  
"How do you know about my past?" she asked. She reached onto the seat in front of them to grab her shirt and put it back on.  
  
"I…" Sark looked at her confused. "I honestly don't know. You and I have never talked about anything remotely personal in the field before. The only person I know you've dated is your handler. I didn't come across anything else when I was reading up on you."  
  
Sydney smiled at him as she sat back down next to him. "I believe the man you didn't realize you were referring to was Danny Hecht and what Sloane did to him."  
  
"I vaguely remember reading something about him."  
  
Their conversation drifted off, and they began to sit in an inexplicably comfortable silence. Sark fought the urge to grab Sydney's hand in his. "Something's not right with me. That's for sure," he thought to himself. Being around Sydney felt a lot more familiar than it should have. Before, she had always set him on edge. There was something about her that kept him from relaxing in her presence. But, at this moment, he could feel his guard begin to drop. That would have to be fixed.  
  
"You know that I'm not in love with you," he said quietly.  
  
"I know," she said without looking.  
  
"Just making sure."  
  
Sydney knew that comment was meant to hurt her, to make her want to stop putting forth the effort to remind him of what he couldn't remember. That lack of memory was the exact reason why his hurtful comment actually made her more motivated.  
  
When she had fallen in love with him in London over two years ago, he had repeatedly told her again and again that he didn't love her, that he would never love her like she wanted him to. She hadn't given up then. Because of that, he did finally admit how much she meant to him.  
  
"I can do it again," she thought to herself as a smug smile crossed her lips.  
  
"What's so funny?" Sark asked.  
  
"Nothing," she looked over at him. "Were you staring at me?"  
  
"No," he said a little too quickly.  
  
Laughing, she was about to tease him when she was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone ringing. "Bristow," she said.  
  
"Sydney?" said the hesitant voice on the other end.  
  
"Amy? What's wrong? I thought you were supposed to be on assignment with the CIA again."  
  
"I am. I'm calling you from my flight home from Lisbon."  
  
"You're breeching protocol to talk to me during an assignment. You know that right?"  
  
"Yes. Listen, Sydney. I came across something that should concern you. One of your friends is working in connection with the Covenant. I would tell you everything I know now, but I'm afraid my cell phone might be tapped."  
  
Sydney could sense the hysteria in Amy's voice. Whatever she had found out, it was huge. "Just calm down. Are you flying into LaGuardia?"  
  
"Yes, I should be there in about an hour."  
  
"Great. Will's away on assignment. We can meet at his apartment. I'm sure he won't mind. Just be careful and don't do anything stupid."  
  
"Okay. I'll see you then."  
  
Sydney snapped her phone shut and turned to the man sitting next to her. "We're only a few hours away from New York, right?"  
  
"Correct. What was that all about?"  
  
"I called in all the favors I had collected throughout the past few years and brought together all the people I trust to find you, Julian. On our first attempt to find your location, Vaughn and I found intel stating that one of those people were working with the Covenant."  
  
"Really?" Sark said, hoping Sydney couldn't see right through him. He didn't want her to make the connection that he had been working with the Covenant rather closely for the past few weeks. He was well aware that she had a mole and he knew that mole's identity, but he didn't want her to know that quite yet. It could still be used to his advantage.  
  
"That was Amy Tippin on the phone. She stumbled upon the mole's identity on her CIA mission. We're meeting her as soon as we can get to her brother's apartment."  
  
"We?"  
  
"You accepted my proposition back in Tokyo. That makes you my partner. And as much as I'm not sure I can trust you, I know I need your clear way of thinking and analyzing if I'm going to get through this."  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment," Sark said with a smirk.  
  
"I meant it as one. So, what do you think of this situation? I can tell that your mind is already racing with the possibilities of what is to come."  
  
Sark tried to hide his surprise that she was picking up on his thought patterns. "Well, I was just wondering how you know that Ms. Tippin herself isn't your mole. You realize this whole thing could be a setup. The perfect way to eliminate you, Sydney."  
  
"That didn't occur to me," she said, lost in the thought of what would happen if what Sark were saying turned out to be true.  
  
"It's a good thing you have me, then."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"The only people you've told about finding me were Michael Vaughn and Lauren Reed. Amy Tippin isn't aware that when you said we could meet at Will's apartment that you meant you and me could meet with her. She doesn't know I'm going to be there."  
  
Sydney nodded. "That's why I needed you with me."  
  
Sark looked at her skeptically while pointing to where she had ripped his t-shirt slightly in the heat of passion.  
  
"Well, maybe there were other reasons to," she said with a laugh. 


	13. Dead End

Sydney paused right in front of the door to Will's apartment complex. It had taken them forever to get through the traffic of the city and out into Brooklyn. Now that they were finally here, she found that moving her feet to take the next step was a little harder than she thought.   
  
"Why are you stopping?" Sark asked.   
  
"I'm scared," she answered truthfully. "In a few minutes, I'm going to find out which one of my best friends has been working against me, maybe even trying to get me killed." She looked up at him and held out her hand. "I know you're new at this. But would you mind?"   
  
He gave her a genuine smile and put his hand into her outstretched palm. "I might be cold-hearted most of the time, Sydney, but I'm not that horrible."   
  
"I never thought you were," she answered, squeezing his hand as she pushed open the front door and began to walk up the stairs to the fifth floor.   
  
They walked hand in hand up all five flights of stairs without a word. Sydney finally dropped his hand to knock on Will's apartment door. The door creaked open with the pressure of her knock.   
  
"Amy?" she called out hesitantly. "Are you here? The door was open."   
  
There was no answer. "Why wouldn't she be here already?" Sydney asked Sark. "Her plane should have landed at least two hours before ours."   
  
"I think she was here," Sark said, pointing to the kitchen counter.   
  
Sydney looked closer and saw Amy's keys to the apartment just sitting there. The bright pink ball of fuzz some hopeless person marketed as a key chain was unmistakable. Sydney had given it to her for her birthday five years ago. "Do you think she left?"   
  
"Maybe this was a trap and there's a bomb," Sark said, half kidding.   
  
"That's not funny. This situation is incredibly serious. I don't know what could have made her leave this apartment without seeing me first." Sydney brushed past him into the hall. Sark watched as she paused in front of Will's open bedroom door and all the color drained from her face. She looked like she was about to faint.   
  
"What's wrong?" he asked as he started to make his way towards her. He had no time to brace himself as she let loose a blood-curdling yell and ran into the bedroom. Rounding the corner, he saw what had made her scream.   
  
Amy Tippin was lying on the bed in a pool of blood, and she didn't seem to be moving. There were noticeable stab wounds in her torso. He watched from the doorway as Sydney checked her pulse. "She's still alive," Sydney said.   
  
Sark snapped out of his small trance and pulled out his cell phone to call 911. "Yes. I need an ambulance at the corner of E. 32nd and Tilden. My friend had multiple stab wounds." Sydney heard him pause as the operator asked him a question. "I don't know what happened. We were supposed to be meeting her… yes, my girlfriend and I… we were supposed to meet her here. When we got here the door was open and she was lying on her bed." Another pause. "No, this is her brother's apartment." Pause. "No, I will not calm down." Pause. "Listen. I don't need to stay on the line. Just send a bloody ambulance now!"   
  
"Are they coming?" Sydney asked as she lightly pushed Amy's blood-soaked hair out of her face. She leaned down and gave Amy a few quick breathes. As she pumped her chest, Sydney added, "Because I don't know how long she can stay with us."   
  
"We're right down the street from University Hospital, Syd. If they're not here within a minute, I'll find another way to get us there."   
  
She nodded, continuing CPR. She only broke her concentration once to look up at Sark and smile as she heard the sirens in the distance begin to get louder. Between breathes, she said, "I guess your forceful words worked on the operator."   
  
"It's a gift," he said with a smirk.   
  
The paramedics were in the apartment within two minutes, and they had Amy strapped onto a gurney and already receiving blood once she had started breathing faintly on her own.   
  
"We're coming with her," Sydney demanded as the paramedics wheeled her out of the apartment.   
  
"Only one of you can fit into that ambulance."   
  
"You don't want to mess with me right now," Sydney said. "Both of us, and your patient, are CIA. You can get in a lot of trouble if you don't let us come with you. You don't want that, and I don't want that." Both paramedics looked a little frightened as they searched for a way to tell her no without costing them their jobs, all while wheeling Amy into the elevator.   
  
"Let's go," she said to Sark without paying any more attention to what the paramedics wanted.   
  
As a second thought, Sark grabbed Amy's keys off of the counter and ran out the door after them.   
  
Sydney sat in the hospital waiting rooms chairs, playing with the ends of her sleeves. She had been sitting in the same position for over an hour now just trying to fathom what had gone on. Once again, her presence had almost killed another of her friends. "She still might die," she thought.   
  
Pushing that horrible thought out of her head, she tried to focus on remembering every detail of Will's apartment. There might have been a clue as to who broke in and attacked Amy. There might have been something she overlooked.   
  
"Oh my god!" Sydney screamed suddenly.   
  
Sark was jolted out of the sleep he had just fallen into. "What's going on, Syd?"   
  
"I didn't call Will. How am I supposed to explain to him what happened? He's going to blame me. Blame me and then kill me."   
  
"Settle down," he hissed, noticing everyone's eyes were on them. Plus, getting woken up when he didn't want to be always made him grumpy. "I called Will Tippin right when we got here. You were too busy trying to figure out if Amy was going to be all right. Don't ask me why I did it, but I called him. He should be here any minute now."   
  
"That was an extremely kind thing to do, Julian. Thank you."   
  
"Just don't expect me to do it again. I'm not this pansy person you seem to think I was."   
  
"Still not convinced that you've spent the past two years with me?"   
  
"No. I mean, parts of the story are extremely convincing. Like the part about you falling madly in love me and not being able to live without me."   
  
"Cocky bastard," she mumbled.   
  
"I know. I am, aren't I?" he said smugly.   
  
She couldn't help but grin. "You know, the last time you were in a hospital was when your sister almost killed me."   
  
"WHAT?" Sark screamed. Now he was the one drawing the whole waiting room's attention to them. "How do you know about my sister?"   
  
"I helped you extract her from working with Taylor Cummings. You and I single-handedly took down his organization with her help. Or so we thought." Sydney realized that there was no way around it anymore. She was going to have to tell him about how he killed his sister to save her. "You're not going to like what I'm about to tell you. In fact, I'm pretty sure it will do wonders in convincing you that I've been lying the whole time. But it is the truth."   
  
Sark held up his hand to stop her from babbling. "One thing at time. Where is my sister now?"   
  
She hesitated for a moment, but in seeing his pained look, she spit it out. "She's dead, Julian."   
  
He got up and punched the wall forcefully, leaving a nice dent the size of his hand. Rubbing his sore knuckles, he turned back to Sydney. "Who was the bastard that did it? I swear to god, if it's the last thing I do, I'll kill him."   
  
"It was you," Sydney said quietly without looking him in the eyes.   
  
"You want me to believe that I killed my own sister."   
  
"Lina betrayed you. She betrayed me. You thought that she was working with Cummings to prove to you that she was capable of being a great agent. Instead, she was working with Cummings because she wanted the power. When she saw an opportunity to do him a favor, she took it. Cummings had tried to recruit me, but I refused. That made him quite mad. Lina agreed to kill me."   
  
Sark put his hands in his head. "This is too much, Sydney."   
  
"I know." She put her hand on his shoulder, and, surprisingly, he didn't shake it off. She was about to try to explain to him the motives behind his stabbing but was interrupted by a familiar voice shouting her name. "Will," she said, motioning him over.   
  
"What happened? Where's Amy?"   
  
"She's in surgery right now. Will, I don't know what exactly happened. She had some important information for me. I was supposed to meet her at your apartment. When I got there, this whole thing had already happened. I'm sorry."   
  
"It's not your fault," he quickly said as he grabbed a doctor who had been walking passed. "Amy Tippin. I want to know how she's doing, and I want to know now."   
  
The doctor nodded and started to walk away. Will grabbed the collar of his lab coat. "That's Amy. A-M-Y. Tippin. T-I-P-P-E-N."   
  
"Let him go," Sydney said as she put her hands on Will's. When the doctor's feet were back on the floor, she apologized for Will, sighting stress as the reason.   
  
"I can't take this, Syd," Will said as he sat down in the chair she had previously been sitting in. For the first time, he looked at the man beside him and let out a scream.   
  
"People are going to think we have escaped from the insane asylum if we keep screaming repeatedly like this," Sark said.   
  
"What the hell is he doing here?"   
  
"I found him in Tokyo. We were on our flight home when I got the call from Amy. There wasn't time to take him home. Besides that, he's my partner. He has just as much a right to hear what Amy had to say as I do."   
  
"What did Amy know that was so important?"   
  
Sydney hesitated, wondering if she could really tell him the truth. There was still a mole out there somewhere that she needed to find. "I'm not exactly sure. She said it had something to do with Sark. It sounded serious, so I told her I'd meet her immediately."   
  
Will nodded. He was about to say something else when the same doctor he had just assaulted came over to stand in front of them. Will stood up along with Sydney and Sark. "Your sister is out of surgery," the doctor informed them.   
  
"Is she going to be all right?" Will asked.   
  
"That remains to be seen. The surgery was able to stop the internal bleeding, but Amy is still not conscious. We're not sure if she'll be able to recover from the stress of the wounds and the operation. There'll be a more definitive answer in the next couple days."   
  
Will nodded, and the doctor gave him a weak smile before walking away.   
  
"It could have been worse," Sark said quietly.   
  
"Do you want me to kick your ass?" Will hissed, getting ready to land another punch.   
  
"Stop it," Sydney warned.   
  
Sark smirked at the man he had previously tortured. "I just meant that she could have been too badly injured for the surgery to do any good. At least they were able to repair the damage as much as possible."   
  
"Wow," Will said with a shocked look. "That was almost as if you had… feelings…"   
  
"Don't let the word get out," Sark insisted.   
  
Will turned to Sydney. "Why don't you get out of here? You've had a long day, and I know you could use some rest. I'm here to watch out for Amy. I'll let you know if anything happens."   
  
"Will!" shouted a young, attractive man as he ran into the waiting room. "What's going on?"   
  
"Jason, this is Sydney Bristow and Julian Sark. They're colleagues of Amy's at the State Department. Syd, Sark, this is Jason Harrington, Amy's boyfriend."   
  
"Pleased to meet you," Sydney said as she shook his hand. "Julian and I were just leaving. It seems now with both of you here that Amy is in capable hands. But don't think I won't come back with a horrible wraith if I hear you're slacking on your watching-over duties."   
  
"You can count on me," Jason said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Sydney. Amy talks about you all the time."   
  
"I'm very fond of her, too," Sydney said. "Goodbye, Will."   
  
"Bye, Syd. I'll call you if there's any news." He turned to Sark. "Sark."   
  
"Will."   
  
Sydney rolled her eyes and grabbed Sark by the hand to pull him away from Will and out of the hospital. Some things never changed. The Sark she knew and the one in front of her at this moment were both on not so good terms with Will.   
  
"But I guess that's a consequence when you chose to torture someone," she thought with a laugh. "Where to now?" she asked out loud.   
  
"I'd like to see this home you keep raving about," Sark said.


	14. Starting To Believe

The tour around the penthouse was finished within the first few minutes of them. While they were walking through it, Sark had pushed Sydney to tell him the rest of what happened to his sister. By the end, he still was in disbelief, but he had started to see the pieces fitting together. Lina had always been a wild cannon, that's for sure.   
  
The only thing that puzzled him is why would he have killed her for Sydney. No woman had ever had that power over him, not even Irina Derevko. What happened between them to make him willing to destroy his life from the bottom up just to keep her around?   
  
Sydney turned to Sark and, breaking him out of his thoughts, asked, "Do you remember any of this?"   
  
He looked up from where he was staring at a framed photograph of him and Sydney at Central Park. "It seems familiar and you have proof, but I can't say that it's not just because I've seen pictures of it. I mean, it is where you live, Sydney. The Covenant could have had me doing some recon on you at some point, and computers can digitally alter photographs rather nicely these days."   
  
"That's a good point. I'm willing to give you that one." Her cell phone began to ring. "But you're wrong." She flipped it open and walked into the other room.   
  
The second she was out of sight, Sark withdrew his own cell phone from his pocket and punched in a number. "It's Sark. I need to talk to Eric Weiss or Stephanie Conway." Pause. "Don't give me that bullshit that they don't work for the Covenant. Sydney Bristow told me that they do." Pause. "Listen. They want to talk with me. So just go down there and find them and give them the phone."   
  
He only had to wait another minute until a woman's voice came on the phone. "Ms. Conway, I assume."   
  
"Please, call me Stephanie. Let's cut to the chase, Sark. Why the hell did you let Bristow take you out of our Tokyo facility?"   
  
"Because it was advantageous for me at the time."   
  
"And it's not because you have a little crush on her."   
  
Sark smirked. "I'm not going to sit on this phone wasting the precious window of opportunity I've found debating whether or not I love Sydney. I was just calling to let you know that I can still help you with your little Bristow problem… for a price."   
  
"How much?" Stephanie asked.   
  
"We can decide that later. And I want you to know that I have a little insurance on you. I will tell Sydney who you're little mole is."   
  
"Understood."   
  
"It was a pleasure talking with you, Stephanie. And, by the way, I appreciate the poetic irony of what you did to Amy Tippin, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still piss me off. Stop taking jabs at me."   
  
"But it's fun," Stephanie said with a laugh before disconnecting.   
  
Sark didn't have a moment to relax as Sydney reentered the room. She looked up at him and smiled. "It's nice to have you standing around the penthouse again."   
  
"So, who was on the phone?" Sark asked. He silently slipped his phone back into his pocket as she focused on telling him what he had asked.   
  
"That was Will. It seems like the doctor's think Amy will pull out of her coma, but not for another few days."   
  
"Then only a few more days before you can figure out who your deceiver is," Sark pointed out.   
  
"I hadn't thought of that. I was just focusing on Amy getting better."   
  
"Leave it to me to bring up the cold, hard facts about a situation. It's my specialty."   
  
Sydney was about to respond when she saw Sark's face go pale and he faltered a little, almost falling over. She rushed over to his side and helped him sit down on the couch. "What's wrong?"   
  
"I got this weird flash right there." He rubbed the back of his skull right above the neck. "It was strange. I felt a pulsing in my temple and then this picture popped into my head. I saw you and I eating pizza in my flat in London. You were teasing me about something. Only I know that never happened."   
  
She gently touched the side of his face with her hand and turned his head to face her. "That really happened. I made you pizza because you said you had never eaten a properly, homemade one. You're recovering your memories."   
  
"I don't think so, Sydney. It was just a coincidence."   
  
Sydney stood up so that she could look down on him. "Why won't you give me a little benefit? Trust me when I say I'm telling the truth. If you stop fighting it, maybe you'll find out if I'm telling the truth sooner rather than later."   
  
"I can't just accept this," Sark said standing up so he was on the same level as her. "I can't just accept the fact that I've gone soft. That I actually let a woman into my life. That I gave up my career for love. That's not me."   
  
"It is you. You changed, and you need to accept that. I'm not the kind of person who gives up easily. I'm going to be at your side hounding you morning, noon, and night until you admit that I am right."   
  
"You always were stubborn," Sark said, a hint of regret in his voice.   
  
"I got it from my parents." Sydney grabbed his hand. "Why don't we get out of here for a little bit? We can go over to the Park and get some ice cream."   
  
Sark nodded and let Sydney lead him over to the elevator doors.   
  
"Oh. And don't forget to say hello to William, our doorman. You're like his hero."   
  
Sark couldn't believe it. He had spent the whole day with Sydney, and he hadn't thought about anything spy related the whole time. It seemed she had a secret talent of distracting him from the things he knew he had to do. Now they were walking back to their penthouse with the sun setting behind them, eating ice cream cones they bought from a street vender.   
  
"What are you doing to me, Sydney Bristow?" he mumbled to himself.   
  
"What did you say?" she asked turning towards him.   
  
"This is so surreal. Do you really expect me to believe that I lived like this?"   
  
"And enjoyed it, too. It was nice, having a simple life. No complications. We both loved it." Sydney went silent and started licking her ice cream cone again.   
  
"Are you getting tired of trying to convince me already? Because I thought you were going to hound me until the end of time."   
  
"Oh, I am. I just don't want to waste time on you right now when I have a fabulously delicious ice cream cone in front of me."   
  
Sark watched her as she set in upon her ice cream with her tongue again. "She really doesn't have a clue how much power she has over a man," he thought to himself. He was beginning to realize that she normally acted just like she did on a mission. Every move she made was so naturally charged with sensual energy. It was like she couldn't turn it off. And it was unnerving him how much he wanted to take her to bed.   
  
"What are you thinking?" she asked as she threw her empty napkin into a nearby trashcan.   
  
"I'm thinking…" He struggled for a way to tell her what he was thinking without revealing his true thoughts. "I was thinking how beautiful you look."   
  
She smiled at him. "Thank you."   
  
"But that doesn't mean anything's changed between us."   
  
She grabbed his hand and leaned in close to his side. "Of course not."   
  
He sighed and pulled his hand out of hers to place it around her shoulders. "You're going to be the death of me, Sydney."   
  
"You've told me that before. You're still alive." She was pleased to hear him chuckle over her comment.   
  
They walked the last few blocks to the penthouse in silence. As William opened the door for them and smiled, Sydney turned to Sark and kisses him lightly on the cheek.   
  
"What was that for, Bristow?"   
  
"It's nice to have the little things back."   
  
"To what are you referring?" he asked as he hit the button for the twenty-fourth floor.   
  
"A lot of couples have a problem with uncomfortable silence between them. They talk about the stupidest things just to fill that void. We never had that. Amy always used to tell me that's when you've found a special person. And I quote, 'When you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence'."   
  
Sark saw Sydney's face drop as she realized who she was talking about. "You're really worried about your friend?"   
  
"It's my fault she's in the hospital. I dragged her into something she should never have been involved in. It was extremely selfish of me."   
  
"It's about time you did something selfish. You were always the kind of person who would keep sacrificing their lives over and over again if anyone they cared about needed them to. It's a refreshing change. Makes me think you're not as perfect as I once thought."   
  
"You thought I was perfect?" she said with a wink.   
  
Sark was about to enter when the elevator doors opened. "Why are we on the twenty-fourth floor?" he asked, taking in the surroundings.   
  
"Because you pushed the button, Julian," she said as she got out of the elevator.   
  
"And do you have any idea why I did that?"   
  
She started walking down the hallway and called behind her shoulder, "We always got off a floor below the penthouse and took the back stairs up to our home. I don't know why or when we started doing it. It's just routine now."   
  
Sark followed her through the hall to a door at the end. She took out her key card and swiped it through a reader, making the door pop open.   
  
"You're not going to say anything to me about remembering that little bit?" he asked.   
  
"No. I don't want to push you too hard. It's only the first day, you know."   
  
When they reached the top of the stairs and went into their penthouse, Sydney turned to him. "I have work to do with Irina."   
  
"Irina?" he asked.   
  
"Not my mother. My clothing line. I've put the company in the hands of my assistants for the past few weeks since I've been trying to find you. I'd like to make sure that everything's been running smoothly. Do you think you can amuse yourself for a little while?"   
  
"I'll come up with something," he said, waving her waving her away.   
  
She smiled and left the room.   
  
"Something to amuse myself, huh?" he muttered as he pulled out his cell phone. He had decided that there was something eerily familiar about the whole day. As much as he wanted to deny it, it seemed that Sydney might be telling him the truth. He might have been lied to by the Covenant.   
  
The idea of having spent the past few years with Sydney wasn't that far-fetched. He was willing to admit that he always had a little thing for her, but who wouldn't? She was practically the perfect image of a woman, and she wasn't even conscious of it.   
  
He had to make a decision and fast.   
  
Dialing a number, he hoped what he was about to do would pay off. "This is Sark. Give me Conway."   
  
He waited for a few minutes, knowing that she was making him wait on purpose, before Stephanie came onto the line.   
  
"Do you have a plan as to how you're going to hand us Bristow's head on a platter?"   
  
"No. But I have decided my payment. And if things are as you say, it shouldn't be any trouble for you to get."   
  
"How many million?" she asked, sounding rather annoyed.   
  
"None. I don't want money. I just want some concrete proof that I've been with the Covenant for the past few years. And I want it delivered to me within the hour. If I don't get it, I'll assume that you've been lying to me, and all bets are off. I have a man in my London office that knows where to contact me. Get the information to him, and he'll pass it on to me. You have one hour starting now." He flipped the phone shut and took note of the time.   
  
He knew that if they weren't telling him the truth, there was no way they could fake concrete evidence within sixty minutes. So, whatever they gave him would either be soundly the truth or very noticeably fake.   
  
Picking up the TV remote, he turned it on and became engrossed in a rather interesting mystery movie on one of the channels. He didn't even notice that two hours had passed until he heard the door to Sydney's office slam shut behind her.   
  
"How's the company?" he asked without turning to look at her.   
  
"The same as always." She waited until he looked up at her. "Excelling and kicking the ass of every company that it's up against."   
  
She sat down on the couch and snuggled into his side. "So what's on?"   
  
"Nothing," he answered as he yawned.   
  
"Tired? We could go to bed."   
  
"We?"   
  
"Well, yeah, I assumed you wouldn't mind."   
  
"I don't think so. If I'm going to get to the bottom of what's really going on, I need to keep my wits about me. And being in bed with you is not going to do that. I'll sleep on the couch."   
  
"Okay," she said getting up. "Well, since you're no fun, I'm going to go to bed."   
  
He watched her leave the room and then counted to five before picking up his cell phone. "Hey, Thomas. Did any fax or package come through for me in the past couple hours? No. Interesting. Thanks."   
  
So it looked like the Covenant wasn't telling him the truth about what had happened to his memories. But that didn't make it clear that Sydney was telling the truth. Though it did give her theory some strong support.   
  
Within seconds of him hanging up, he heard Sydney leave the bedroom. "I brought you something to sleep in," she said as she handed him clothes he recognized as his.   
  
"Thank you. Goodnight, Sydney."   
  
He expected her to turn around and leave, which is why it was so surprising when she reached over and pulled his face to hers. "That's not how we say goodnight, tiger." She kissed him lightly and then tapped him lightly on the nose. Just before she left the room, she turned around and added, "That's not how, either. But I'm giving you a break. Next time, it'll be the smoldering kiss. Goodnight, Julian."   
  
"Night, Sydney," he said, silently thanking whoever was responsible for her letting him off lightly. It was hard to resist a pretty woman who kept offering herself to him, no matter the circumstance.   
  
He changed quickly and flopped back down on the couch. There had to be some sort of good late night television on. It always seemed like some channel was playing Mortal Kombat or some equally good "bad" movie.

He didn't flinch as a piercing pain went through his head. The pain was quickly replaced by a few choice images. Sydney standing in front of him, loosening her dress and letting it pool at her feet. Her hands on his back, cutting into his skin and mixing pleasure with pain. Her biting his lip in passion and grinning up at him wickedly.

He wish he could tell if this was another real memory or a work of fiction dreamed up in his head. Either way, it wasn't an unpleasant thought.

Sighing, he tried to push all thoughts of Sydney and her grin out of his head.   
  
It was going to be a long night. 


	15. Pancakes

Some kind of banging woke him up at three in the morning. After he remembered where he was, he tried to figure out where the noise was coming from. There was a light coming from the kitchen. He grabbed his discarded t-shirt off the ground and began to make his way there.   
  
The sight he saw from the doorway was priceless. "Are you making pancakes?" he asked as he sat down on one of the kitchen barstools.   
  
"Yeah. Blueberry. I couldn't sleep. Pancakes usually help," Sydney explained.   
  
"That is so strange."   
  
"Does that mean you don't want any?"   
  
"Now, I didn't say that." He smiled at her and looked her up and down. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that looked familiar. "You're wearing my old rugby shirt."   
  
"It was my favorite," she explained without turning around. "I wore it so much that you eventually gave up on ever getting it back."   
  
Wanting to continue their casual conversation, he asked, "So, why were you having trouble sleeping?"   
  
"You don't want to know."   
  
"Come on," he prodded.   
  
She sighed and looked up at him. "I can't sleep because the other side of the bed is empty. I haven't gotten a full night's sleep since the Covenant took you away from me. Now, don't you wish I hadn't told you?"   
  
"No," he answered honestly. "That's just another point for why I'm starting to believe you."   
  
"You're starting to believe me?" She placed a bowl in front of him. "Mix."   
  
He picked up the spoon she offered. "Yeah. Your story, and you in general, are pretty damn convincing."   
  
She smiled at him as she threw some butter into a hot pan. "You always used to make me pancakes at night when I couldn't sleep. The first time, I didn't believe you that they would help my insomnia, but wouldn't you know! They put me right to sleep."   
  
"It was something my mother taught me. Before she died, that is." He carried the bowl over to the pan and set it down.   
  
"I'm sorry," she said, looking up at him. "I know how hard it is for you to talk about your mother. I shouldn't have brought up the story behind the pancake making."   
  
"When did you decide my emotions needed to be tiptoed around? I'm a big boy. I can take it."   
  
She scooped up some batter and dumped it into the pan without responding.   
  
They made two "rounds" of pancakes in silence before she finally spoke again.   
  
"Can I ask you something?" she said tentatively.   
  
"If it's within reason, yes."   
  
"Have you been in contact with the Covenant since we left Tokyo?"   
  
"No," he lied. "Why do you ask?"   
  
"Because the Sark I knew two years ago would turn me in to them if it was profitable for him. And I just wanted to know if I should be worried."   
  
He looked at her and noticed for the first time that she did seem a little uneasy around him. "I'm telling you the truth. At this moment, you don't have to worry about me turning you in to the Covenant."   
  
"Thank you." She felt her eyes tear up slightly and willed herself not to cry.   
  
"Oh shit! It really was worrying you that I was going to betray you." He wiped the tears from her eyes and silently admonished himself for doing something that could have hurt her. This whole day, she had treated him with respect and kindness, not wanting to push him too far. In all actuality, she had probably been telling him the truth. He probably had been with her these past three years.   
  
And there he was doing exactly what she was afraid of, contemplating turning her in for a profit.   
  
"I'm okay," she said, shrugging out of his reach and leaning against the opposite counter. "You don't have to feel bad for me."   
  
"This is killing you, isn't it?" he asked, moving to lean next to her on the counter.   
  
"It's hard. I'll admit that much." She looked up at him. "But I'll be fine. I've never wanted something as bad as I want you to realize that I'm telling you the truth." She saw his eyes widen at her comment. "It's the truth."   
  
He rubbed his eyes and sighed, purposefully trying not to look at her.   
  
"What's the matter?" she asked tentatively after a minute. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"   
  
"It's not that," he said, still not looking at her.   
  
"Then what is it? Tell me so I won't do it again."   
  
"It's… it's… you."   
  
"It's me?" She looked at him confused. When he still didn't meet her eyes, she started to get mad. "Would you be a grown-up and look at me? I'm tired of addressing someone who's acting like a child who's done something wrong."   
  
He glanced over at her, and she saw the fire in his eyes. It was at that moment that she realized she might have hit a nerve that wasn't supposed to be touched. "Julian?" she whispered hesitantly.   
  
"You know why I can't look you in the eye, Sydney? Do you?"   
  
"No."   
  
"It's because every time I'm near you, I'm so unbloody hinged I can't take it. And I don't know why. I've been with you for all of thirty-six hours, and you've already thrown my life completely off kilter. You have this effect on me that I can't even fathom to explain. And I don't like it."   
  
Sydney moved slightly and positioned herself so that she was standing between his legs facing him. "You feel like you have no control over what's going to happen?"   
  
"Exactly," he said, wondering how she knew exactly what he was trying to explain so easily.   
  
"Congratulations. That would be the scariness of being in love that you're feeling. I've been going through that for years now with you. You'll learn to love it."   
  
"I don't love you, Sydney. I keep telling you that."   
  
"I never said that you loved me. But still, I'm calling bullshit. Because you do love me, and I think you're beginning to realize it." She trailed a hand lightly up his chest until it rested on the back of his neck. She casually rubbed one of the points she knew he was most sensitive while leaning in to whisper in his ear, "Does this make you feel unhinged?"   
  
He grabbed both of her arms and pushed her back fiercely. "You don't want this."   
  
"If you think that's true, you've been missing my whole point." She began to speak slowly and articulate heavily to get her point across. "I want this. I want you. I've always wanted you. I won't ever stop wanting you."   
  
He smirked at her. She really was one of the feistiest girls he had ever met. And a woman after his heart. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "The pancakes are burning."   
  
"Let them burn."   
  
She felt his arms snake up around her and pull her up, twisting her until she was seated on the counter. He reached over and turned the burner off while kissing her lightly on the neck. "You really are a messy cook," he said as he tasted her skin mixed with batter.   
  
"Maybe, but you always enjoyed licking it off of me." She felt him nip lightly at her neck and couldn't help but moan softly.   
  
"Some things don't change," he said as he felt her reach her hands under his t-shirt and push it up over his head.   
  
She flung the shirt to the floor and pulled him back in close to her. "I don't want to be alone," she whispered into his ear. "I thought I could handle it, being without you. I can't."   
  
"You're not alone now," he whispered. "Close your eyes."   
  
"I'm shaking," she said as she felt him pick her up into his arms.   
  
"It's all right." He carried her into the bedroom as fast as he could. She seemed to have single-handedly destroyed every emotional defense he had constructed in the past twenty-years with just one day and one walk through Central Park.   
  
She felt herself being place on the bed. His fingers trailed up her sides lightly, making her want to giggle. But she held it in as she felt him lift her shirt up over her head. She had desperately missed the feeling of his hands on her body.   
  
His fingers were warm as they trailed over her. Warm with that rough scrape of callus. They were the weather-beaten hands of a man who had gotten himself in and out of many situations. Someone who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty to get what he wanted. Her stomach did a little jump as she felt them work down her body and tease the waistband of her shorts.   
  
His lips pressed lightly on her heated skin, just above her waist, making her moan and raise her hips towards him slightly. He had always known just the right thing to do. She relaxed slightly as she felt him blow softly on her skin, sending chills up her body.   
  
"Lift up your hips," he demanded.   
  
She obeyed and felt her shorts being dragged off. His hands trailed down her body, and she was surprised to feel him begin to rub her feet.   
  
"You remembered," she said, absentmindedly. She opened her eyes to look down at him. "It took you a few weeks into our relationship, but you found out the way to my heart was through my feet."   
  
She leaned back against the bed again and just gave in to the simple pleasure of his hands on her. There was a small sense of loss when he stopped rubbing her feet and began to work his way up her calf, then her thigh, all the way to her stomach.   
  
He kissed her lightly and whispered, "There's something familiar about the way you smell. Like lilies and…"   
  
"And…" she said running her hands through his hair.   
  
"Blueberries," he answered making her laugh. She lightly stroked his cheek as he rested his chin on her abdomen. "I didn't realize it before, but your scent was haunting me. I used to wake up during the middle of the night in the room the Covenant had set me up in. I'd reach across the bed and be thrown off by it being empty. And for some strange reason, I would feel hollow because the pillow next to me didn't smell like lilies. I couldn't figure out why I thought it should smell like that. But I did."   
  
She pulled his lips up to hers, feeling them soften, gentled on hers. "Julian," she whispered.   
  
"Shhh. Don't think. I'm tired of thinking."   
  
When his mouth came back to hers in a kiss of lingering sweetness and warmth, she practically melted under him. He was acting so much like his old self that she wanted to cry.   
  
She kept sighing his name as his hands, his lips, his tongue, slid over her. As his lips found hers again, it was in a kiss that lingered as if there was nothing else in the world more vital at that very moment than this. Her heart melted.   
  
She reached down and pulled his boxers away as he unclasped her bra and slid it softly off her shoulders. The pressure between them was beginning to build.   
  
His hands trailed down her sides again, and his fingers looped into the thin band of her underwear. As he slid them off, she couldn't help but bite lightly into his shoulder in anticipation. "Julian," she pleaded.   
  
"Not fast this time. Fast is too easy," he said as he slid his tongue around her nipple while running his hands up the inside of her thighs.   
  
He felt like they had nothing but time. He had spent so many hours not knowing what he was missing. Now he wanted to take his time discovering every inch of her for the first time again. The scent of her, the way she squirmed underneath his touch, the unconscious way she licked her lips when she wanted him to kiss her. He wanted all of that, and more.   
  
Having her with him now erased every lonely hour he hadn't realized he had been suffering through.   
  
He pressed his lips to the dip in her throat, the small freckles on her shoulder, the corner of her mouth, as the rage for her he hadn't known he had shot through him. He held her close as he felt her fall over that first peak.   
  
The urgency was building as he let himself slide into her. He could feel her watching him as they began to move together. Her eyes were a mixture of both pleasure and tears as he gripped her hands in his.   
  
"Stay with me." He crushed his mouth to hers. "Stay with me."   
  
He had stripped her heart bare. Every defense she had built up against him, every single reason she had made herself dream up as to why he was never going to be the same, was gone. He had her quivering in his grasp, in his complete control. It was a wonder he didn't see that in the tears in her eyes.   
  
So, she closed her eyes to keep him from realizing. She kept her hand locked in his, stayed with him. Stayed with him. And was with him still when their worlds shattered.


	16. Confession

The bed beside him was empty when Sark woke up the next morning. He groaned and rolled over, shoving a pillow over his head. "What did I do?" he thought, trying to throw the memories of the past six hours out of his head.   
  
Frustrated, he flung the pillow back onto the other side of the bed and got up. He picked his discarded boxers up off the floor and slipped them on. Rubbing a hand through his hair, he tried to find Sydney.   
  
She was sitting in the living room working on her laptop. He had to admit that she looked incredibly cute with her glasses on and her hair pulled back in a bun. It was almost what he would have pictured as his ideal vision of settling down. Now, that unnerved him.   
  
"Now is not the time to be fantasizing," he scolded himself.   
  
"Hey," she said, looking up and smiling at him. "How'd you sleep?"   
  
He flung himself down into one of the chairs and looked at her. "That is not going to happen again."   
  
"I'm not giving any promises," she said as she shuffled through a stack of papers. "I have a bad habit of causing moments of weakness in people. We won't even get into the total lack of self-control that I have. And nice hair by the way. I missed the horrible bed hair while you've been away."   
  
Glaring at her, he got up from his chair and sat down on the couch next to her. He ripped some of the papers out of her hand and looked at them. "What are you working on so intently?"   
  
"You might be back, Julian, but I still want to know which one of my friends has been betraying me. So, I had Marshall borrow a few CIA files for me."   
  
"Borrow? Is that what they're calling blatant theft these days?"   
  
"Ha ha. Very funny." She looked through her papers. "Marshall seems to think that the mole isn't leaking any CIA information to the Covenant. It looks like they were specifically targeting me."   
  
"So what does that mean?"   
  
She flung the papers down onto the table. "That's the problem. I have no idea. This whole thing is so frustrating." She looked over at him. "So what do you want to do today?"   
  
"Don't you have a business to run or something?"   
  
"And don't you have some shady double crossing to do? We all make sacrifices." She smiled at him. "Seriously. Are you all Sydney-ed out or can you take another day of me?"   
  
He smirked. "I don't think I'll be tiring of you anytime soon."   
  
"Good."   
  
"Have you heard any more news on Amy?" he asked.   
  
"Why, it's almost sounding like you care. How strange." She pushed the files into a neat pile and stood up. "Will called about an hour ago. There's no change. The doctor's don't think she'll wake up until a few days from now. They said her body had shut down to try to heal itself up."   
  
Sark nodded and was glad when Sydney didn't push the fact that he was concerned. He didn't want to have to come up with another lie to cover the fact that he had all the answers she was searching for. And he didn't want to dwell on the fact that a slow urge to tell her the truth was creeping up on him.

His urge was interrupted before he could get a handle on it. The pains racing through his head signaling a recalled memory were swiftly becoming bothersome and unwelcome. These memories only served to confuse him more than before.

"What's the matter?" Sydney asked, concerned as he grabbed his temples.

"Dancing on the Eiffel Tower at midnight with no one else around?"

"That would be your present to me on our one year anniversary. It was the first time I had ever truly seen Paris for the beautiful city that it is. One of the best nights of my life."

He nodded, not really knowing how to respond to that. It was a memory that was supposedly real, but he couldn't connect the emotions with it just yet. And until that point, he didn't want to discuss them too in depth with her.  
  
"I'll be free in about an hour. There's just one quick phone call I have to make." Sydney excused herself and walked out of the room, leaving him alone once more with the television.   
  
He grabbed the momentary opportunity he had been given to clear his head. Sydney had sent his whole life into a downward spiral, and he really needed a moment to think about what had happened between them. And try to understand why his heart was telling him not to fight her. That staying here with her was the one thing he wanted to do above all else.

* * *

Irina could tell something was bothering Sydney when she called her twenty minutes earlier. Which was the exact reason she had hopped in a cab and paid the driver double to get her to Park Avenue in half the time.   
  
Sure, Sydney had made all the normal inquiries. How has the past few days gone? Is the organization shaping up? Does she need any help?   
  
But Irina couldn't help but notice her daughter's subtle attempts to keep the conversation away from the subject of Anna Espinosa and, by association, Sark. She had only recently gotten close to her daughter, but she didn't need years of experience in mothering to know when her daughter was hiding something from her.   
  
And Irina Derevko did not stand for lying. Especially not from her own daughter.   
  
She nodded hello to William and got into the elevator, pushing the penthouse button and swiping the key card Sydney had made her a few months earlier. It was time to get to the bottom of why her daughter wasn't telling the truth.   
  
The elevator dinged, and the doors slipped open. She stepped out, scanning the penthouse. It appeared as if no one was home. Usually, Sydney was right at the door to great her when she came over.   
  
Irina took the opportunity to scan over the changes Sydney had made to the penthouse. There was a newly framed picture up on the wall of Sydney and Sark on one of the many piers around Manhattan. It always pleased her to see her daughter looking so happy. Never in her wildest dreams would she have believed this happiness would have come from a man like Sark.   
  
She had always respected Julian for the great spy that he was. His coldness was always an asset to her organization. But she never would have pegged him as the guy who would finally give her daughter someone she could love and depend on without the fear of betrayal.   
  
Irina had always kept a close watch on Sydney's life. She had seen her daughter get involved with Noah Hicks when she first started working at SD-6. If she could have, she would have warned Sydney that Noah was the kind of man you were warned against.   
  
Then, there was Daniel Hecht. Irina actually approved of him. He was smart and had a life of his own. If only Sydney could have taken a hint from her father and learned how to keep a secret. Irina knew that everyone always tells you that you should be completely honest with the person that you loved. But frankly, who really believed that load of bull?   
  
She was hesitant to admit that she might have pushed Sydney and Michael Vaughn together a little too hard. When she spent all that time locked up in a CIA cell, there really wasn't anything more to do than observe everyone who came to see her. She could tell almost instantly that Sydney and Michael cared for each other, maybe even loved each other. She had encouraged both to tell the other what they were feeling.   
  
But Michael Vaughn hadn't been the strong man she had thought he was, not like the man she remembered his father to be.   
  
Sark hadn't let her down. When Sydney finally admitted to her mother that she loved Sark more than any other man she had been with, Irina wasn't surprised. She had met Sark when he was fairly young and new in the spy world. And the kid had charmed her immediately. It must have been something with that smug smirk.   
  
"Hello?" she called as she heard a slight giggle coming from the bedroom. Raising her eyebrow in surprise, she made her way to where the sound was coming from.   
  
When she opened the door, she was tempted to let out a loud laugh. Her daughter and Sark were sitting on the floor playing what appeared to be an intense game of Monopoly. There was paper money and little, green plastic houses everywhere.   
  
"I told you that I would get Boardwalk," Sydney screamed as she jumped up onto the bed and started bouncing around and rubbing in her small victory. She had always been a smug winner. When she saw her mother in the doorway, she stopped.   
  
"Sydney. Julian."   
  
"Hi, Mom," Sydney answered, sitting down on the bed.   
  
Sark turned and looked at this former employer. "This isn't what it looks like."   
  
"I think it's exactly what it looks like." Irina smirked at him. "And this is not the first time Sydney had suckered you into a game of Monopoly. Though why she could fool you into playing is beyond me. I would have thought you were smart enough to learn your lesson the first hundred times."   
  
"He doesn't remember," Sydney said, simply.   
  
"What do you mean he doesn't remember? And could you please explain when you found him and brought him back to Manhattan? I would have thought I would be one of the first people you'd contact with the news."   
  
"In Sydney's defense, Irina, she's been keeping the whole thing rather low key. No one else really knows."   
  
"Except for Vaughn and Lauren.   
  
"And Amy Tippin."   
  
"And Will."   
  
"And whomever the mole is."   
  
Sydney turned to her mother. "But that list didn't include Dad, so you should feel special."   
  
"Mmm hmmm. I'll decide that later. Get to explaining."   
  
"I found Sark at the Tokyo facility where Amy first spotted him. The Covenant had wiped his memory clean. He doesn't remember anything from the past few years. I think it was another attempt by Eric and Stephanie to hit me with a low blow."   
  
"I can say that they really wanted to hurt you, Sydney, for whatever reason. I mean, they wanted me to kill you when we met up in Tokyo."   
  
"You do realize you would have been a dead man if you had succeeded," Irina said as she sat down on the bed next to her daughter.   
  
Sydney ignored her mother's threat. "So, I brought him back here immediately. And that's where we've been."   
  
"You don't seem surprised at finding me here with Sydney? Did you know about our relationship?"   
  
"Did I know? Julian, you were going to be part of the family. Of course I knew."   
  
Sark looked at Sydney in confusion. "What does she mean 'part of the family'?"   
  
Sydney shot her mother a dirty look and got up to get something off the dresser. When she returned, she sat down on the floor next to Sark and placed something in his hand. "You gave me this a few days before you disappeared."   
  
"Is this an engagement ring?" he asked, flipping the simple ring over in his hands.   
  
"Yes. You asked me to marry you, and I said yes. I didn't want to tell you before because I was pretty sure the news would have you running for the hills. I didn't want to chance it. But since you had to spill the beans, Mom…"   
  
"How was I supposed to know that you hadn't told him?"   
  
"I don't know. You're my mother. You are just supposed to know these things."   
  
Irina sighed. "So, if Sark doesn't remember the past three years, how the hell did you get him to agree to play a board game with you? That's not the kind of thing I would imagine him wanting to do with his day. Not when there's revenge to plan or killing to be done."   
  
"Why does everyone see me as a person who enjoys inflicting pain?"   
  
Sydney patted him on the head patronizingly. "Because you are, honey. Don't try to deny it." She turned to her mother to answer the question. "I guess you could say I appealed to his competitive side."   
  
"She told me that she had never met anyone who had a better strategic mind for the game. Tricked me into playing."   
  
"She's good at getting her way," Irina said. "Could you excuse us for a moment, Julian? I want to talk to my daughter in private."   
  
"Uh oh. This sounds serious," Sark whispered in Sydney's ear as he stood up. Smiling he walked over and placed her ring on the dresser before leaving the two women alone.   
  
"So, what did you want to talk to me about? Does it have something to do with Anna?"   
  
"No, it doesn't, actually. Before we get into the hard part of this conversation, let me just say that she's working out great. She's a good agent."   
  
"I always thought so when we were in the field together. Someone once said that in another world, your adversaries could be your allies, so you shouldn't limit your options."   
  
"That's pretty smart. Who said that?" Irina asked.   
  
"You," Sydney answered with a laugh. "Now what did you want to speak to me about?"   
  
"I want to know what you were hiding on the phone."   
  
"You already figured it out. I didn't want you to know that I had found Sark and brought him back to Manhattan. The lesser people who knew, the better."   
  
"Cut the crap with me, Sydney Anne. I know when you're lying. That wasn't the only thing you were holding back. There was something more."   
  
Sydney looked away. "It's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry about it."   
  
"If it's something you can handle, why are you starting to cry, sweetheart?" Irina placed her hand on top of her daughter's. "You can tell me anything. I won't judge you. Does it have something to do with Sark?"   
  
"No. Yes. I don't know. I'm so confused." She looked up at her mother. "It's so hard. I love him so much, and I can't feel his love for me at all. I know it's in there somewhere, but he just won't let me see it. I can't stay this strong for much longer. It's destroying me."   
  
Irina wrapped her arm around her daughter and pulled her close. She could feel Sydney begin to sob as she lay down with her head on her mother's lap. "This has really been hard on you, hasn't it?"   
  
"You have no idea," Sydney answered through her sobs. "I didn't want to tell anyone until we got Sark back. I was afraid that if they knew, they wouldn't let me try to find him. And if I didn't do it, I couldn't be sure that they were actually trying to find him. So I had to keep it a secret. I didn't want to, but I had to. I'm still not even sure I should tell anyone until I can make him come back fully, memories and all."   
  
"Keep what a secret, Sydney?"   
  
"I'm pregnant, Mom."


	17. Bullet Magnet

Sydney waved to her mother as the elevator doors slid shut. She had taken the news that she was going to be a grandmother rather well. And she had provided some much needed comfort and optimism.   
  
When Sydney had first imagined telling her that she was pregnant, she thought her mother would fly off the handle saying how completely inopportune her timing was. That sure was what Sydney kept telling herself. Couldn't she have picked a better time to conceive a child than when the father is currently suffering from intentional amnesia?   
  
She knew that she would have to tell him soon, but it just didn't seem right to saddle him with another responsibility when he still wasn't firm in his decision to stay with her. Scaring him away was the last thing she wanted to do.   
  
Turning back, she noticed that Sark was standing in the doorway going into the hall staring at her. "What?" she asked.   
  
"This is all hard for me, Sydney. I've told you that a million times. I don't know if I can be the man you used to know."   
  
"I don't care what man you are, as long as you stay with me," she said honestly. "And that was a little random."

"I can't take the way you look at me."

She looked up at him with a confused look on his face. "I thought you were stronger than that."  
  
"That's what scares me. I thought I was, too. You make me uneasy in your willingness to take what you can get. I might not be as you remember me, but you're certainly not the same as I remember you. Everything I do to hurt you or make you mad, you just shrug as if it was nothing. Do you know how infuriating that is?"   
  
"I can imagine."   
  
"Anyway, I wanted to at least thank you for giving me a place to clear my head and come up with what my next move is. Even if you're really not helping in the whole let-me-make-my-own-decision sense."   
  
She smiled at him. "Do you have a point?"   
  
"Yes, I do. Stop trying to rush me when I'm giving a speech." He winked at her. "I just wanted to let you know that while you were talking with your mother, I cooked up a little surprise for tonight. Sort of a get you to shut up so I can have some peace kind of thing. I got the idea from some of the old photo albums you keep in the bookcase over there."   
  
"What did you do?" she asked, suspiciously.   
  
"Put on a nice dress, Sydney. I'm taking you dancing."   
  
She dropped her jaw in surprise. This was unexpected. "You haven't taken me dancing in a long time, Julian."   
  
"If you don't want to go, just say the word," he teased.  
  
"Of course I want to go. Just give me one hour, and I'll be ready." And with that, she raced of the room, giddy with glee.   
  
He chuckled to himself as he thought, "She always loved surprises." His laughing stopped as he realized that was something he shouldn't have known if she was lying to him about the past few years. Yet another reason why he should believe her.   
  
"I hope you remember how great a dancer you used to be," she joked as she did one last check in the mirror. Deciding that everything was perfect, she walked out to meet him in the front room.   
  
"You look spectacular," he said with a smile, leaning in to kiss her neck lightly.

Sydney smiled at him from across the room and unconsciously smoothed down her dress. It always made her blush when he looked at her with that instinctive hunger in his eyes. She should have known that would be the reaction this dress would get. She had pulled it out of the back of her closet where it had been shoved because it was a little too daring for her normal tastes.

It was bright red and had a low V neck that cut almost to her belly button. The skirt was knee length but had two slits that went up high on her thigh. Coupled with a pair of three-inch stilettos, she knew that her outfit was bordering on being killer.  
  
Sark moved across the room to grab her hand and led her out of the penthouse. She was pleased to feel him inhale slightly as his head passed her hair. Another unconscious action that proved the Sark she had fallen in love with was still in there somewhere.   
  
"Where exactly are we going?"

"In a dress like that, I should probably just lock you up in a room. You're going to be breaking some hearts tonight, Agent Bristow." He led her into the elevator.

"It's in the job description."

Sydney let him take control of the night, relishing in the fact that it almost seemed as if things were back to normal. Sure, he still didn't fully believe her when she said that they had been hopelessly in love with one another. But she had to pick her battles, didn't she?

The drive to their destination was not that long, and Sydney was happy to see that Sark had unconsciously picked one of her favorite places to go. She knew that he had in all actually just selected it because it was one of the first listings in the phone book, but she was still happy to be at Arigo's.

"In the mood for a little salsa, huh?" she said with a wink as he opened her car door for her.

"No. I just wanted to see you dressed in that outfit. And I don't think it would have been quite as appropriate to wear it ballroom dancing."

"Good call."

They walked right past the line of people waiting to get in, and the bouncer lifted the rope partition.

"Nice to see you, Ms. Bristow, Mr. Sark. It's been a long time."

"It's good to see you, too, Jerome," Sydney answered, knowing that Sark didn't remember the man. "I hope the wife and kids are doing okay."

"Never been better. Thanks."

A huge wave of smelling of heat and something tangy hit them as they entered the club. This was definitely the place to be tonight. There didn't seem to be a couple who wasn't on the dance floor.

"You know they'll expect us to do some showy number like in the movies. They always do," Sydney whispered in his ear.

"Really?"

"No! That stuff really does only happen in the movies. I've never seen any of these people before in my life. And we don't like to draw attention to us. So keep all the showboaty moves to yourself."

She grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. She closed her eyes and slowly began to move her hips to the beat that was pulsing through the floor. Sark's hands touched her waist lightly and pulled her in close. It was good to be near him again.

They got lost in the emotion of the music and seemingly forgot about the whole world. They forgot about the issues they were still trying to work out between each other, about the fact that Sydney's friend had almost been murdered earlier that day, about the simple truth that they were always a target. They just danced.

Sydney was getting a little fatigued after an hour of dancing. She kissed Sark lightly on the lips and murmured something about getting something to drink.

He knew he should follow her to the bar and make sure that no guy came up and tried to take advantage of her sexy dress. But he figured that she might want to cool down a little without him. And he was afraid that if he did follow her, they might just end up in a bathroom somewhere to get rid of some of their pent-up frustration and attraction.

Laughing to himself, he worked his way out of the crowd. He couldn't imagine that Sydney would ever be the type of girl to have sex with someone in a bathroom. It just didn't seem likely.

The music died down as the deejay switched from one song to another. Sark could hear a couple of men arguing from across the club about some woman, but he paid no attention to them. There were always some drunken guys fighting over the stupidest things no matter what kind of club you went to at what time of the night.

However, when he heard a gunshot, his attention was grabbed.

Looking up, he expected to see security pouncing on the man, but there was no one to be seen. Except for Sydney. Of course, she happened to be in the middle of it. And currently, she was kicking and punching both of the men who had been arguing.

The first gun shot had grabbed his attention. The second one made him go pale and almost scream.

Because the second one caused Sydney to drop to the ground, and he could no longer see her anymore over the heads of the crowd.

He pushed his way through to get to Sydney as fast as he could. When he reached her side, he saw that she was sitting up and clutching her side.

"Are you all right? What happened?"

"Those two assholes were arguing about which one could buy me a drink. One of them had a gun. That made the discussion a little more tense."

"I know. I saw most of that from across the club, including you beating up two men who are twice your size." He helped her up and saw her wince. "Did you get shot?"

"I think a bullet grazed my side," she said.

Sark scooped her up into his arms despite her protests. "Looks like our little night of fun is over." Glancing around, he locked sights with one of the men who had been fighting over Sydney's attention. He looked incredibly familiar.

It took Sark a second to place the face, but he eventually realized where he had seen the man before. He was a Covenant employee. Sark had seen him around the Tokyo facility once or twice in his few weeks there.

"I bet the other guy was Covenant, too," he thought. "No need to tell Sydney. She'll just get upset and want to seek immediate revenge. And that was more of my game anyway."

He sighed as they stepped out into the cool night air. "Don't start complaining about me carrying you. I think if you tried to walk, you might pass out. Then you would just be dead weight. At least this way I can have a little light conversation on our walk back to the car."

She smiled and nestled her head into the crook of his neck. "Thank you, Julian."

"You're welcome, Sydney. Now don't fall asleep on me. We still need to bandage your wound."

"Okay," she said, right before losing consciousness.

He groaned. "I thought I said I didn't want to carry dead weight. Damnit!" He noticed that people on the street were staring at him. "Blind date gone bad. Who knew she was narcoleptic?"

The people still looked confused. "Great. The people don't even understand my sense of humor, Syd. This is why you shouldn't keep getting shot. It kills all the fun."

Sighing again, he shifted her slightly in his arms and prepared to walk the block and a half to where they had parked the car. He just hoped that he didn't run into anyone they knew, especially Jack or Irina. He really didn't want to explain how he had let Sydney get shot again.

This girl was a bonafide bullet magnet.


	18. An Eye For An Eye

Sark knew that what he was about to do was completely irrational. He wasn't at the point yet where he fully believed Sydney. True, it seemed evident that he had spent some time with her the past three years, and they must have been happy together. But he couldn't trust that he'd be so willing to sacrifice everything for love. That went against everything he had ever known, everything he was.

He was not the type of man to risk anything for some measly little feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Which was why he couldn't figure out the reasons behind his boarding a plane to Tokyo.

He didn't know what the Covenant was playing at, but he knew their blatant attempt to kill Sydney was not sitting right with him.

Things hadn't been sitting right with him for a while now. He had pinpointed it to when Amy Tippin had been stabbed. Something felt wrong about the whole situation, like something was being kept secret from him. And he did not tolerate secrets when he was not the one withholding information.

That was why the first place he went after placing Sydney safe in her bed at their home and turning on the security system was Will Tippin's apartment. He knew there was a reason why he had grabbed Amy's keys off the counter at the last moment.

When he let himself in, he silently thanked Sydney for insisting that Will not return to his apartment until Amy was doing better. It wasn't that he was concerned for Will's mental health. Far from it. It was just a lot easier to search the apartment for clues without having to worry about waking up the master of the house.

It didn't take him long to find what he wanted. It was painfully obvious to a man with his knowledge that there hadn't been out of the ordinary with Amy Tippin's stabbing. It was done by the Covenant's new mole. Sark hadn't thought the mole had it in them, but obviously, some things had changed while he was having his memories wiped.

Images of the scene he had Sydney had witnessed flashed through his head, and he forced himself to sit down on the floor of the bedroom. It wasn't Amy Tippin's attempted murder that was affecting him. It was the whole realization that his sister must have looked the same way when he stabbed her.

Sighing, he put his head in his hands and leaned back against the wall. It was hard to believe that he had actually killed Lina. Sydney didn't seem to be lying when she told him the whole story, but he just couldn't let himself accept what she said as truth. His sister was the one person who meant more to him than anything in the world. He would never kill her.

What he couldn't figure out was why would Sydney lie about something like that.

There was no logical reason. But there was also no logical reason why he would find himself stabbing the only woman he ever loved.

"That's not necessarily true," he had said to himself. "According to Sydney, you loved her an awful lot."

He couldn't figure out the truth. The whole incident a few nights earlier had definitely unnerved him. There was something familiar in the insistent need he had felt in the pit of his stomach to touch her, to stay in constant contact with her somehow. It was an emotion he had never felt before, something he had never dreamed of wanting.

And most of the emotions he felt for her weren't tied up in that one night of passion they had. He kept getting these little twangs in his heart when he watched her at work. The simple fact was she could reassure him and steady him with the simple brush of a hand, no need for words. The realization that he could probably tell her anything about his past, present, or future and she wouldn't run out the door screaming blew his mind away.

He couldn't comprehend how Sydney Bristow, the tough CIA agent, had ever let herself fall for a scoundrel like him. In his mind, he had always imagined that she was secretly in love with him. The tension between them on missions fueled this little fantasy. But he had never dreamed that what he felt between them would ever be real.

It was incredibly real. He had come to realize that in the few days he had spent beside her.

It was the one thing that he knew he would never want or need.

But somehow it had become the only thing he wanted and the one thing he needed more than anything else.

She had told him that their love was so strong that he had killed her sister to save her life. He knew that he shouldn't believe her, but he did. It was illogical and one of the most emotion drive conclusions he had ever come to. But he believed her.

Because as he was sitting on that floor of Amy Tippin's apartment, his mind flashed again with the familiar humming of what he had come to identify as another memory returning to his brain. And this one happened to be the one thing he both desperately wanted to remember and desperately wanted to never come back. It was the one thing he had needed to remember if he was ever going to get on with his life.

He could hear his sister saying that she loved him and embracing him. Next was the cold feel and sound of steel entering flesh. The look of pain and betrayal on Lina's eyes, which reflected back the determination he could feel was in his. Then, he felt himself turn and look to where Sydney was lying on the floor, unmoving.

And his heart broke.

The plane touched down, breaking him away from his thoughts. He flipped his cell phone open. Sydney picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" she said groggily. 

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Like someone was trying to kill me. Oh wait. That might be right."

"What did the doctor I sent to the penthouse say?"

"That I should try to avoid getting shot. Turns out it's not good for my health. Where are you, Julian?"

"I had to clear up some things. Business related, you know. I called your mother. She should have gotten there by now."

"I think I hear her in the kitchen. You sound strange."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied. Of course he knew why he sounded strange. He had just remembered the moment he had stabbed his own sister and the reasons behind it.

"When are you coming home?"

"I should be back by tomorrow. You rest up."

"It was just a light graze."

"That was a little more than a light graze, Sydney."

"Okay. But still. It's not life threatening. I've gone through worse."

"Just rest. Try to relax. I'll be home as soon as I take care of what needs to be done." He hung up the phone before she could tell him she loved him. It was hard to hear her say those words when he knew he couldn't say them back.

It didn't surprise him that he was barely off of the docking bay before a Covenant employee had picked him up and offered to drive him to the facility. He couldn't help but wonder how confused Stephanie Conway must be. The last time they talked, he had given her the ultimatum of providing proof of his having been with the Covenant for the past three years. She hadn't done that, and he hadn't spoken to any of their agents since.

"Come to think of it," he said to himself, "I haven't even thought about the Covenant since Sydney made me pancakes that night. I really must be going soft."

Stepping in the car, he hoped that he wouldn't end up doing anything he would regret later.

* * *

He could remember all the twists and turns to the Covenant's Tokyo facility as if he had been working there for years. He knew now that was a lie. The claims Sydney had been making finally rang true to him. The memory of killing his own sister cemented that in his mind.

The only problem was he still couldn't connect the emotions to the memories. He wasn't looking forward to telling Sydney that he remembered her, but he still didn't love her.

Within minutes of being in the off-limits corridors, he was picked up by a few agents he recognized as Weiss and Stephanie's bodyguards.

"The bosses want to see me, huh?" he said with a smirk. "Not too happy that I've been out of contact."

The agents didn't say anything just pushed him forward down the hall. It only took them minutes to arrive at the office where the two heads operated. Sark was happy to see that both of them were waiting for him. What he was about to do wouldn't work if one was missing.

"Mr. Sark," Weiss said, leaning back in his chair. "It's nice to see you again. Things not going too well with Bristow?"

"That's a matter of opinion. From your perspective, no, I would say things are not going as well as you would have liked." Sark sat down in one of the chairs in front of Weiss's desk. "Could you send your goons away? And make Stephanie sit down. She looks like she's about to explode."

Weiss humored him and waved the guards away. Stephanie took a seat on the corner of the desk.

"I asked you to provide me with some information, Stephanie. You didn't come through."

"Information like that isn't the easiest to dig up. I knew you would want solid proof that you had been where we said you were. Stuff like that isn't produced in an hour. I'm sorry, Julian."

"And I suppose you have it now?"

"Would it help?" Stephanie asked, skeptically.

"Not at all. I wanted to see how good a job your men did in altering proof of my working for the Covenant. What can I say? I'm an extremely curious man."

"Let's not go down that road, Sark," Weiss said from his seat behind the desk.

Sark turned towards him. "Oh. So you didn't actually go through with faking the proof? That is a sloppy mistake. You might have been able to change my mind if you had. Convincing proof could have tipped the scales in your favor."

"You really expect us to believe that you're that important a player in all of this?" Stephanie asked. "That's just pathetic. You're nothing but a pawn."

"A pawn?" Sark acted offended. "The best agent you supposedly had is just a pawn?"

He stood up and trained his gaze on Weiss as the man's hand reached below his desk. "I wouldn't press that panic button if I were you. First off, both of you would be dead before you even got close. Second, real men don't need outside help to solve their problems."

Weiss relaxed back in his chair. "Fine. Let's cut this bullshit. Why are you here, Julian?"  
  
"I'll get to that in my own time. First, I wanted to let you know that the Covenant's brainwashing isn't as good as it once was. You played a part in the fact that Sydney forgot two years of her life. That was some good head messing. The job you did on me didn't last that long. In fact, it didn't even last a month."

"So, you remember where you've been?" Stephanie asked.

"I remember. I don't feel, but I remember." Sark smiled at her wickedly. "And you'll see just how unhappy I am about that in a moment." 

"You're wasting our time," Weiss said.

"No. This meeting is not wasting your time at all."

Weiss didn't have time to react at all as Sark shifted from his cool business man mode to lethal killer. In the blink of an eye, he had shoved Stephanie off the side of the desk and face first into the carpeting while jumping onto the desk and down beside Weiss chair. Suddenly there was a gun trained on his neck.

"I thought you might have a strict 'no guns' policy," Sark said as he watched Stephanie pick herself up from off the floor. "Turns out you're a little lax on that criteria. Just pointing out a weakness. Showing I care and all."

"Put the gun down before someone gets annoyed and kills you, Sark," Weiss said.

"Aren't you afraid I'm going to shoot you and your little evil agenda will be over?"

"Not at all. Stephanie would never allow this to get that far."

"Aw. You have a lot of faith in your woman." Sark clicked the safety off. "But I also have a lot of faith in mine. Which is why I'm going to tell you that you have nothing to worry about." He paused and turned to where Stephanie was wiping the blood of her face. "She, on the other hand, might want to run while she has the chance."

Stephanie scowled at him. He answered her scowl with a nice, big smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry, darling. Did I break your nose? Plastic surgery can fix that, no problem."

Sark shift the gun in his hand so that he was holding it by the barrel. Before Stephanie knew what was happening, he threw the gun hard at her head, hitting her in the right temple. "That, on the other hand, might cause some permanent damage."

Sighing, he punched Weiss as hard as he could, causing the man's eyes to roll up into his head as he lost consciousness. "That won't cause permanent damage. It will just hurt like hell when you wake up."

Sark began searching the cabinets behind Weiss's desk until he found what he was looking for. "Something I've learned over the years," he said to the two unconscious bodies, "you can always rely on your enemy to keep a rope handy. I've been doing this for years, and that has never failed to be true."

He began to tie Weiss to the chair he was sitting in. When that was done, he fastened Stephanie's hands loosely to the chair he had been sitting in a few moments earlier. "Now we wait."

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait for long. As much as he had begun to look forward to what he was about to do, he couldn't deny that he was worried about Sydney and wanted to return home to make sure she was doing all right. Irina was fully capable of taking care of her daughter, but it would reassure him to know firsthand that she was fine.

Almost as if he had planned it, he heard both Weiss and Stephanie begin to regain consciousness. Smirking to himself, he watched them try to get their bearings and realize they weren't going anywhere.

Weiss struggled to get out of his bindings to no avail. "You're not getting out, Eric," Sark informed him. He walked over to Stephanie and pulled the rope loose from her wrists. "You, on the other hand, I only tied up in case you woke up before your boyfriend. Didn't think I could time it as perfectly as I did."

Stephanie rubbed her hands and immediately backed towards the door.

"Trying to run away?" he asked as she tried the doorknob and realized the door wasn't budging.

"What do you want, Sark?" she hissed.

"I have a simple message for Weiss. I do not appreciate the little attempt you made on taking Sydney's life. And I don't appreciate what you've been turning trying to ruin her life with the whole Amy Tippin incident."

"You're going soft, Sark," Weiss said. "I never thought a woman would get to you this way."

"Then you obviously don't know Sydney. That woman could make any man in the world want to reform himself."

"You sound like a horrible romance novel," Stephanie said, walking back to the middle of the woman. " 'She makes me want to be a better man'. What the hell did she do to you?"

Sark ignored her jab at him. "Like I said, I don't remember the emotions or feelings behind the last few years of my life, but I do remember the major plot points. That makes me understand why I've been feeling these weird urges to protect Sydney at all costs. That's why I'm here."

"Why are you here?" Weiss asked.

"To give you a simple message." Sark grabbed Stephanie by her hair and threw her into the nearest wall. "You hurt mine, I hurt yours."

He took his gun out of his jacket and smiled at Stephanie as he clicked the safety off again. Taking aim, he fired the gun and was pleased to see the bullet grazed her left side. She collapsed in pain.

"Hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?" he said, putting the gun away. "I just wanted to let you know that if either one of you lifts another finger to hurt Sydney, I will not show the amazing amount of self-restraint I had here today. And I always want you to realize that you're not safe from me. You can try as hard as you want, but you will never be safe from me."

Sark walked over to Stephanie and punched her hard in the face. "That was just for fun," he said with a wink as he let himself out of the office.


	19. Conscience

When his cab pulled up in front of his home, Sark realized that he wasn't ready to face Sydney. She would be full of questions about where he had been and what he had been doing. He wasn't sure if he could answer them right now. At least, not without thinking.

He had to figure out why he had done what he did and why it felt so right.

Stepping out of the cab, he gave the driver a few bills and began to walk down the street. He needed to clear his head. After all, he had just severed the few remaining business ties he had that did not concern Sydney. If he was wrong about what he was feeling, he had pretty much destroyed his life for a woman he thought he had once loved.

After he had walked five blocks, it began to rain down on him hard, but he barely noticed. His mind was racing trying to put together the missing pieces of the past three years. He believed almost everything Sydney had told him, but he still couldn't fathom the sacrifices he made. The connection was just not there to be made.

It hit him rather suddenly and completely unexpected as he recalled something she had said to him earlier. She had said that the horrible feelings he had been trying to identify were part of the scariness of being in love. He had wanted to laugh at her when she said that. It was ridiculous, the notion that such horrible feelings could be associated with love.

Love was never portrayed as being full of fear. No one ever said how much he or she hated being in love while they were actually in it. It just didn't make any sort of sense.

But it was at that moment that he realized she was speaking the truth. Love wasn't all sunshine and puppies. There was a fear one accepted in choosing to put one's heart on the line and love another fully. It was a fear he had never thought he would experience, a fear that he had trained himself to keep from experiencing. But he now realized that he had been living with this fear welled up inside of him for what seemed like his whole life.

He wasn't scared of being in love with Sydney. He was scared of love in general. Love was something he had always been scared of, which could explain why he had never let anyone in. It was a kind of self-preservation.

Standing in the middle of Manhattan with the rain pouring down on him, he realized the solution to getting rid of this fear. It was something he had been unconsciously doing since that one moment in a Paris nightclub which had ended up changing his whole life. It was so simple he wanted to punch himself for not realizing it earlier.

It explained how he had been able to have the two years of happiness he was slowly remembering.

Being with Sydney Bristow, having her by his side, took all the fear and anxiety away.

Before he knew what was happening, he felt his feet begin to move back towards the direction of the penthouse. He was racing down the streets as fast as he could manage, paying no mind to the busy traffic or other people in his way.

Now that he knew what he had to do, home was the only place he wanted to be.

* * *

Sydney woke up with a start when she heard the elevator doors rush open and the sounds of someone running through her home. She sat up and saw the silhouette of a man standing in the doorway to her bedroom. For a second, she felt a small tug of fear grip her stomach, but that was quickly erased when she recognized the man as Sark.

"What's the matter?" she asked groggily, trying to take in his appearance. His clothes were soaked through and sticking to his body like a second skin, and his hair was smoothed back off of his face. 

He walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. She was pleased to see a smile light up his face as he reached to touch his palm gently to his cheek. "I missed you, Sydney. More than I can possibly say."

"I missed you, too, Julian. Is everything all right?"

"No. And it hasn't been all right for a while now." He took his hand away from her. "It's my fault, really. I can't blame anyone else for this."

She just nodded and looked at him in the moonlight. The way it bathed him in a gentle light that she hadn't seen him in since he had disappeared in Miami... if he didn't sound so serious, she would be tempted to seduce him right then and there. But at this moment, she couldn't push away the fear of what he might be trying to tell her. "Are you leaving me?" she asked hesitantly, putting her fear into words. 

He smiled at her, trying his best to reassure her of just how wrong she was to ask that question of him. "No. But I think when I'm done here, you might want to leave me."

"I don't think that's possible."

Sark suddenly understood that he wouldn't be able to face her as he admitted his mistake. For the first time in his whole life, he couldn't take seeing the pain he was about to cause. With a sigh and a silent hope to whoever was listening that she would understand, he started in on his explanation. "I haven't been honest with you, Syd. I have been remembering bits and pieces of the two years I thought were missing. Turns out that you were telling me the truth. I was here with you."

"What made you finally believe me?"

"I remembered the day I killed Lina. And I remembered seeing you lying on the ground, not moving. I remembered how hard my heart broke realizing that you weren't going to come back to me. I remember loving you." He chanced a look up at her, and his heart broke to see her eyes welling up with tears. "I didn't connect the memories with emotions at first. In fact, it didn't really happen until a few minutes ago when I was walking in the rain."

"So you really do love me?"

"I've never loved anyone or anything as much as I love you, Syd."

She reached up and kissed him softly. When he didn't kiss her back, she pulled away in confusion.

"I... I haven't been honest with you about other things, too. You asked me if I had been in contact with the Covenant since you took me from Tokyo. I said I hadn't."

"You lied?"

He nodded. "The story you told me was so crazy that I couldn't allow myself to believe it right away. It just wasn't a feasible or rational option. I've always been a man who wanted to work a situation to my advantage. Even though my priorities have changed considerably, I don't think anything could change that personality trait of mine. So, I got in contact with the Covenant and told them I might be in a position to help them."

"You didn't..." she said, shaking her head in disbelief. She looked up at him in horror. "Amy?"

"No, I wasn't involved in that. I can say that much. I didn't end up helping the Covenant at all. I wasn't about to help them if they couldn't offer me proof of my service to them during the past two years. They failed to do that, mainly because they were lying to me. So I failed to help them."

"And you think that I'm going to be mad at you for not telling me?" She smiled at him again, and it made his heart break. "I'm not mad at you for doing something that I fully would have expected you to do. You reverted back to your old self. I'm well aware that I wasn't a priority to you back then."

She reached out for his hand, but he pulled it out of her grasp. "I'm not done, Sydney. You've been searching for this mole within your group of friends since you and Vaughn stumbled on the proof of his existence. You still haven't figured it out yet. That bothered me at first. I always thought you were sharper than that."

Sydney looked at him in disgust. "It's not easy trying to figure out which one of the people you've trusted with your life is actually trying to kill you."

"I know that. You see, that's what I realized. It was your love that was blinding you, keeping you from figuring out who it was."

"So, my love for the mole isn't going to let me believe who their identity is?"

"No. Not your love for the mole. Your love for me is what's been blinding you to the one definite clue you had to the mole's identity."

She stared at him in confusion, which he slowly saw change into realization. "You've known who it was this whole time, haven't you?"

"I didn't want to tell you because it didn't seem like the best option for me. I'm sorry, Sydney. If I had realized how much you meant to me, I wouldn't have hesitated to tell you."

"Tell me."

Sark flinched at the coldness in her voice. "It would be easier if you just let me handle this without you knowing."

"Tell me now, Julian."  
  
He took a deep breath and grabbed her hand, hoping that she would be able to forgive him for the pain he was about to cause her. "It's Will Tippin. He's your mole."


	20. Old Flame

Sydney struggled to process the words that had just come out of Sark's mouth. Did he really just say that Will Tippin, the man she trusted most in the world no matter what, was betraying her to the people she hated it? It was too impossible to even start to comprehend.

"I know it's hard to believe, and I know you probably want to kill me for being the one to tell you, but Will has been betraying you," Sark said again, interrupting her attempts to theorize why the words coming out of his mouth had to be false.

"How? Why? How?"

"I'm not sure. You know I've never liked the man, but I couldn't understand it either when I first found out. I still don't fathom it completely."

"And you knew all this and didn't tell me?"

"I can't explain that one. The least I can do is tell you that I wasn't in my right mind. If I had remembered what you and I had together, I wouldn't have hesitated in telling you. But the Covenant took that away from me."

"Don't start blaming everything on the Covenant," she warned. "They may have taken your memories, but you saw how much pain I was going through with this whole mole business. It was your choice, and your choice alone, not to tell me about Will."

"I know. I accept full responsibility. If you want me out, I'll go right now."

She rolled her eyes at him and sat back in bed. "I don't understand. It's just not possible for Will to betray me like that. You must be mistaken."

"Sydney, I worked with him. He was the one who set up your Tokyo mission where I was supposed to find and kill you."

"But he wasn't even supposed to be on that mission with me."

"No, he wasn't. I don't know how he got you to take him along as your partner instead of Vaughn."

"Amy," Sydney said, a realization dawning in her eyes. "He had Amy ask me if I could take him along. The bastard used his own sister." Sark could see the wheels churning in Sydney's head as she started to put it together. "His sister... Will stabbed his own sister?"

"I'm sorry to say that was a personal jab at me." 

"How could that be aimed at you?" she asked. Before he could answer, she hopped out of bed. "I have to get out of here. I can't take being in this place with you sitting there."

"Where are you going to go?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered as she slid on a pair of pants and a sweatshirt.

"When are you going to be back?"

"I don't know." She slipped out of the door without saying another word.

* * *

She didn't even realize where she was going until she got out of the subway car and recognized her surroundings as Brooklyn. Too tired to wonder, she let her feet lead her out of the station and down the street to the hospital that Amy was staying at. She had to see her friend's face. It might help her figure out how Amy's own brother could find himself stabbing her.

Wiping the tears out of her eyes, she signed in at the nurse's station under the pretext of visiting some patient in the long-term care ward. She knew there was no way they'd allow her to go to the ICU in the shape she was currently in.

After making sure that no one was watching her, she slipped down the intensive care hallway to the room she knew Amy was placed in a few days earlier. There was a figure sitting in the chair next to Amy's bed. It took Sydney a moment to be sure, but when it was clear that the man was not Will, she let herself into the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to see if Amy had woken up yet. There are some things I need to talk to her about." She looked around the room. "And she's really not safe here."

"It's all right, Syd," the man said without turning around. "As long as I'm here, she's safe."

The voice made her heart freeze in her chest. The last time she had heard that she was standing over him with a knife in her hands. "Noah?" she choked out.

Noah Hicks turned and gave her one of the half-cocked smiles she had always loved. "Hey, Syd. How are you doing?"

"You're supposed to be dead."

"And so are you. I heard you had been killed in that fight with Allison Doren." He looked down at the woman whose hand he was holding. "And Amy is supposed to be dead, too. There's a lot of supposed death going around these days."

"You're alive. And you're sitting at Amy Tippin's bedside." Sydney was trying desperately to grasp the situation she had just been thrust into. Why couldn't anything ever be cut and dry?

"Amy is my girlfriend, Syd. I love her with my whole heart, and there's nothing that will keep me from her side." He looked up at her, and she saw the genuine emotion he was speaking of reflecting in his eyes. "I can't believe that I wasn't here to protect her from whoever did this. I shouldn't have let her convince me it was a bad idea to meet her at the airport. I told her that it wasn't safe to meet you, but she wouldn't listen. She was too concerned with being a help to you."

"Wait a second. We need to rewind a few steps. So, you have been dating Amy? What about Jason? He was here with Will when Amy first got stabbed. He introduced himself as her boyfriend. He's been by her side non-stop since we brought her in."

"Jason is an old friend of Amy's. She convinced him to pretend like he was her boyfriend when Will first realized that she was seeing someone. Amy didn't want her brother to know that she was involved with me. She knew the history that we had, and she was afraid that you had told Will."

"This is why Amy has been acting so weird lately. She was trying to cover-up the fact that she was seeing you. Why wouldn't she want to tell me?" Sydney finally stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Because you and I were in love once. Because I'm still a known killer. Because I'm supposed to be dead. Because you and I never resolved what we had. Do you need me to go on?"

"No. That's quite enough really."

"Amy and I have been meeting in secret for the past few months. It's clear that neither the CIA nor my multiple employers would be happy about our relationship. So, we see each other whenever we can find time. I hate the way that it felt like we were conducting some adulterous affair. Meeting in secret at her brother's apartment or keeping separate cell phones for our conversations with one another."

"I still can't believe that Amy was keeping her relationship with you secret."

"You need to get past that fact. Amy and I met on one of her missions. I was undercover on an assignment for my currently employer. We both got caught and shoved into the tiniest prison cell imaginable. Much to our surprise, we realized that we had something in common. Or someone."

"So you two bonded over me?" Sydney said. "This is unbelievable."

"You and I know that a relationship between us would never work, Syd. It just wasn't in the cards."

"How are you not dead?" Sydney hissed, tired of him beating around the topics she really wanted addressed.

"You had to leave Australia rather quickly the day that I got accidentally stabbed. A maid found me bleeding on the kitchen floor within minutes of you leaving the house and called an ambulance. It took me a few months, but I recovered."

"Does anyone ever die?" Sydney asked as she took a seat in the chair next to Noah.

"I decided that the career path I had chosen might not be the best for me. So I gave up the freelance killing. I've been mainly sticking to snatch-and-grabs jobs since then. I'm a whole lot less likely to get stabbed during those. And then there's Amy. Since meeting her, I don't want to risk my life anymore."

"Interesting development. But you still hire yourself out to the highest bidder, right?"

"It's a living. For now, it's a living I can't afford to give up."

Sydney shook her head as she realized that for a brief moment, she had forgotten why she came here in the first place. "I don't have time to sit here and try to figure this whole new development out. I have to find Will."

"Will's been out of the country on business for the past few days."

"Shit," Sydney said.

"Is there a problem?"

"Nothing huge. He just stabbed his own sister to keep her from telling me that he's been sabotaging me."

"Will stabbed Amy? Are you crazy, Syd? Will loves Amy. He would never cause her any harm."

"I thought the same thing, too. But I have a reliable source that tells me Will is the one who has been trying to interfere with what I've had to do the past couple of weeks. He even tried to kill me. I don't know why he's doing it, but Will is the one behind all this." Sydney looked up at where Amy was laying motionless. "If she would only wake up, she'd be able to tell me that it's the truth." 

"If wishes were reality, she wouldn't be in a coma right now," Noah said with a sad smile. "Who told you all this reliable information about Will?"

"Julian Sark."

"The Covenant's little puppet? And you believed him?"

"He's not the Covenant's puppet. And yes, I do believe him." She glared at him. "You know some things have changed in my life since you were supposedly killed. You're not the only one keeping secrets from everyone else."

"You were never good at keeping secrets."

"Well, you obviously didn't know I was romantically involved with Sark so I must be getting better." As a look of shock appeared on his face, she added, "And I have been with him for close to three years now."

"If that was meant to prove a point, Syd, I think you did," he said as he rubbed the sides of his face.

"Things are different."

"Yeah, things are different."

The silence between them was awkward and would have become worse if Amy hadn't chosen that exact moment to start to groan softly. Sydney stood up and looked at her friend's vital signs closely. "I think she's waking up, Noah."

"Don't interrogate her the second she realizes you're here, Sydney," he warned.

"And don't you start issuing me orders after all we've been through," she warned back. "I've gotten a little more impetuous since you last saw me. I'm liable to act out violently if you continue to piss me off, Noah Hicks."

"Would you two stop fighting?" Amy grumbled, still keeping her eyes shut. "A girl can't get some decent shuteye with that racket going on."

"I bet this isn't the joyous welcome back party you were expecting, huh, honey?" Noah said, stroking the side of her head endearingly.

"Amy, it's Sydney."

"You're here... and Noah's here." She said as she opened her eyes a crack. "And you haven't killed one another? That's strange."

"Sydney and I can get along when we have to. How are you feeling?"

"Like someone stabbed me in the gut and put me in a coma which I've only recently come out of. So, on the whole, not too bad."

Sydney gave Noah a nervous look before speaking to Amy again. "I figured out what happened to you, Ame. I'm so sorry."

Amy looked up at her, and Sydney could see the tears of pain and hurt in her eyes. "I never thought he would do this kind of thing. Not in a million years. I didn't know that Will was capable of inflicting harm, especially on me."

Sydney let out a small breath of relief when Amy said her brother's name. Although she was still thrown off about how her attention was called to the idea that Will was her betrayer, she was glad to know that she didn't have to worry about the genuineness of Sark's words.

Now that just left her with learning how to deal with the fact that her amnesic boyfriend was just remembering how he felt about her, that said boyfriend had almost betrayed all the trust she had placed in him, that the man who had gotten her through the toughest times in her life was now the one causing them, that one of her best friends happened to be in the hospital because of her, that she still needed to take down the Covenant, that she still had to tell her boyfriend that she was currently pregnant with his child...

She shook her head. There was just too much for her to do. She couldn't be focusing on the big picture right now. It was too overwhelming. Her cell phone rang.

Giving Amy a weak smile, she walked out into the hallway and flipped the phone open. "Sydney."

"Hey, Syd. It's Will."

Her stomach churned at the sound of his voice. "Will. Amy woke up."

"Oh, she did? Did she have anything important to say? Like who the bastard was that did this to her?"

"Can we stop playing games here? I know it was you, Will. You don't have to keep fishing around to see if your sister told me. At least give her that much respect."

"That's ridiculous. Why the hell would I stab my own sister? If this is Amy's attempt to get me back for the prank I pulled on her last Halloween, tell her it's not funny at all."

"Cut the crap. You work for the Covenant, Will."

"I do not. Listen, Syd. I know these past few weeks have been hard on you, but you usually manage to keep your rational side in times of stress. Think. Why would I stab my own sister?"

"I don't know. That's something you're going to have to tell me."

"Oh god," Will said. She could hear him sit down heavily on the other end of the line. "You're not kidding. You actually think I did that to Amy? This is like that whole second double incident all over again."

"Except this time, you are who you say you are, and you actually did do it."

"Sydney. I did not stab my sister."

"Didn't you hear me earlier? She's awake. She told me everything. There's no way to hide it unless you want to start telling me that it's really her working for the Covenant."

"Amy is not working for the Covenant. And neither am I. I don't know what's going on, but I think you and I need to talk in person."

"I am not meeting you somewhere so you can try to kill me again."

"Syd, I did not try to kill you. I swear."

"Then turn yourself into the CIA. Maybe I'll talk to you when you're behind a prison cell."

"If that's what it takes, I'll do it."

It threw Sydney off that he was willing to turn himself in. Either he was extremely good at covering his trail or he really was telling the truth when he said that he wasn't the one who stabbed Amy.

But that would make Sark a liar.

She had seen the emotion on his face earlier that night. He wasn't lying to her. What he had said hurt him to tell her. He had given up a lot of information.

But on the other hand, she had seen Will's face when he came running into the emergency room the day she found Amy stabbed. He had been genuinely concerned for his sister. Unless he was an incredibly good actor, that concern was real.

"Syd?"

"We can meet. Two hours in my penthouse. You come alone, but I won't be." She flipped the phone before she could hear him say yes. She really didn't want to know if he was going to show up or not.

Rubbing her head in confusion, she went back into the hospital room, still trying to decide if Sark or Will or maybe both were lying to her.


	21. Search For the Truth

Sydney chose to take the stairs for the last few flights leading up to the penthouse and not the elevator. She didn't know how she had left things with Sark when she ran away from him. Was he furious at her for running? Did he feel ashamed at lying to her? She wanted a few spare moments to clear her head before she saw him.

If he was home at all, that is.

Half of her wanted him to be gone, but the other half was desperately pleading with whoever would listen that he hadn't gotten fed up, packed his things, and left. The way their luck had been going he would probably be on a plane riding back into the open arms of the Covenant.

For the first time since she could remember, she was nervous to be returning home.

She had walked through the park for about five minutes before she realized the stupidity in her debating about whether Will was lying or if it was Sark not telling the truth. She knew that one of them was lying, but she couldn't imagine either one. That, however, was no reason to start alienating the man who had finally admitted that he loved her.

Funny enough, she trusted him. And if he were lying, she'd find a way to get past it.

Her previous relationships had never been liked that. If the man lied to her and put her into danger, she would have kicked him to the curb. But Sark was different. And she didn't know why.

Clicking her key card through the scanner and taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door to the penthouse. After a quick look around, she was happy to see that nothing had been packed up. He hadn't left her completely. But it didn't look like he was here at the moment.

She took a seat on one of the chairs in the front room and put her hands in her head. Dealing with Will was not something she wanted to face alone. But, honestly, how could she really expect Sark to stick around after she told him she didn't know when she would be coming back?

"Syd," she heard a voice hesitantly say from across the room.

She looked up to see Sark standing in the hallway looking at her. She tried to read the expression on her face and was surprised to see that it wasn't anger or shame, just simple concern.

"You came back," he said simply, walking towards her.

"You didn't leave," she said with a genuine smile.

"Did you think I was going to?"

"Honestly, yes. I wonder every day when the day will be that you'll leave me behind."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. "Won't be happening anytime soon." With a smirk, he leaned down and kissed her with all the will he had. Sitting alone earlier in their penthouse, he thought he might never get the chance to do this again. Now that the chance was here, he wasn't about to waste it. He was done wasting time.

Sydney could feel the familiar spark between them light up again, and her knees went weak. For her own good, she pulled back before she lost all of her senses. "What does this mean?" she whispered.

"There are still things I don't remember," he said looking her in the eyes. "But I want to remember. I want to remember so damn much it hurts."

If she knew nothing else, she would know he was being truthful just by the fact that he was finally able to look her in the eyes. This was the moment she had been waiting for, the moment where she could stop being so strong and finally let herself lean on someone else for support. She finally let the tears she had been holding inside since he left her run down her cheek.

She saw his face change for a half-worried, half-happy look to complete concern. "It's okay," she said waving her hands at him as she sat down. "I can cry now because I know that you're not going to leave me."

He laughed and sat down next to her. "You always did have a twisted sense of logic."

She grinned at him. "So when did you have this stunning realization that you couldn't live your life without me anymore?"

"It was right about the time that I was punching Stephanie Conway in the face." He noticed her confused look. "That's where I went when I left you here with Irina. I recognized the men who were shooting at us. They were Covenant employees. It pissed me off a little to know that Weiss and Conway were playing with my life like it was nothing. No, let me rephrase that. It angered me so much that I cannot even begin to verbalize it."

"So, you hunted them down. Didn't I tell you before that normal people don't do that? You have a really bad impulse to seek revenge that we have to fix."

He shrugged off her comment since it was said in a light-hearted tone. "I stopped by Tippin's apartment first. I wanted to be sure that he was the one who hurt Amy."

"Amy!" Sydney said pulling away from his arms. "I went to the hospital. She's awake. God, I think she might actually be able to get through this. She was cracking jokes the very second she woke up."

"So, you talked with her?"

"I did."

"Did she say that it was her brother that stabbed her?"

"Yes," Sydney said, not looking in his eyes.

"But you still don't believe it."

"No." She continued to look at the ground.

She felt Sark's arms reach out and pull her in again. "It's all right, Sydney. It's not an easy thing to believe. When you realize it's the truth, you'll accept it."

"How can you be understanding?"

"I'm a magnificent actor." He gave her a small wink.

"You'll never guess who was with Amy."

"Noah Hicks," he answered without hesitation.

For a second time, she pulled herself out of his arms. "You knew Noah was alive?"

"I wasn't about to tell you and have you running off into his arms. What do you think I am? A fool?"

She squinted her eyes at him. "Why would you think I would go running off with Noah?"

"You almost left Michael Vaughn for him six years ago."

"I should never tell you anything that isn't absolutely necessary for you to know. So, how long have you known that Noah was alive?"

"A few weeks. Just since the Covenant took me away. They had me doing a little background intelligence on their new asset. That includes following his sister. She was trying to hide her relationship with Hicks, but she didn't really do that great a job."

"So you haven't known for years?" Sydney asked, settling back into his arms.

"No," he said with a smile. "Can I get back to my story about why I'm telling you the truth now?" She nodded and wiggled into the crook of his arm a little more. "Once I realized from the state of his apartment that Will was the one who stabbed his sister, I went to Tokyo to visit our old friends."

"To tell them that you were no longer loyal to them?'

"Not exactly. I mean, I am no longer affiliated with them." He held up his hand. "Loyal boyfriend right here. I just think they got that point without me verbalizing it when I shot Conway. Informing them of my defection was not my main intention, but the point did come across nicely in the end."

"What was your reason for flying all the way to Japan then?"

"I wanted to let them know if they ever hurt you again, there'd be hell to pay." He kissed her lightly on the top of the head.

Sydney couldn't believe it. That was not what she expected him to say. Not this man who made it feel like pulling teeth just to get him to admit he loved her. "You know it's times like these that I realize how strange my life really is. I mean, isn't it odd that I'm touched by the fact my boyfriend flew halfway around the world to say that he won't tolerate anyone trying to hurt me? That he inflicted pain on another in my behalf? I think I need to start seeing Dr. Barnett again."

He chuckled. "Maybe you do. But then again, most everyone in your life needs to see someone in that capacity, what with all the trouble we seem to get into all of the time." He sighed and looked at her seriously. "So, why did you come back here so soon? I thought that you would take at least a few days before being able to face me again after I lied to you. It usually takes people that long to cool down when I've wronged them. And then with the whole shock of Noah Hicks. You usually disappear for days when your life goes crazy like this."

She sighed, knowing that this point was going to come up sometime but wishing it didn't have to be right that moment. "Will called me. He denied everything you told me and wanted to meet with me. I told him no at first, but eventually I agreed to let him meet me here in a few hours."

"What possessed you to do that, Syd?" he asked, still looking concerned.

"Because this is my home. And no one messes with me in my home. Plus, you're here."

"But you didn't know I'd be here still."

"I hoped you would be here. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't."

"Probably the same thing you always do. Accept it, and move on. You're one of the strongest women I know. In fact, you're probably tied for first place with Irina. I bet that's where you get it from."

That comment struck a nerve in her heart. It was so similar to something that he would have said before the Covenant snatched him and took away all his memories of her. "I get my strength from having you around," she whispered, mostly to herself.

His words made her realize that she didn't have an excuse anymore not to tell him that she was carrying his child. She had put it off because she was afraid of scaring him away. But it looked like now he wasn't going to be going anywhere.

"I have something to tell you," she said softly.

"You're just going to have to put a hold on that because someone's coming," Sark said. "I think Will decided he didn't want to wait a few hours to come over."

Sydney watched him walk over to one of the cabinets and pull out the gun he had stashed there. "It's official. You're going to be okay. You remembered where we hide the guns."

"Stop joking, Sydney," Sark said, only being half-serious. He walked over to where a person exiting the elevator would not be able to see him and held his finger up to his lips to keep Sydney from saying anything else to him. It would be best if Will wasn't aware that he was home right away.

The elevator doors slid open, and Will stepped out. "Syd, are you here?"

"I thought I told you to wait two hours," she said, standing up and walking towards him. She hoped that she appeared cool and confident to him, even though she was scared to death inside. "Couldn't get yourself to wait that long to come and try to kill me again?"

Will looked at her in horror. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have never betrayed you. Never. Let's be serious. This is me we're talking about."

"I wish you would stop lying," she screamed, all attempts at being calm-headed thrown out the window. "I wish you would just give it up and admit that you did it. You can't talk yourself out of this one. I won't let you talk yourself out of this."

"I didn't betray you," he said slowly and with feeling. "And I didn't betray my sister. I don't know what lies Sark has been feeding you."

"Julian is not lying to me. He wouldn't do that."

"Just like he wouldn't shift loyalties at the drop of a hat? We both know what kind of a man he is."

"What kind of a man he was," she corrected. "He hasn't been like that for years now. And I do believe him. I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you didn't see his face when he was telling me that you were the one who has been trying to hurt me. It was painful for him to admit it."

"Oh, I'm sure it was painful."

"Will, he considered giving me up to the Covenant because of what they did to him. He was going to betray me just like you did. Think about it. Knowing that you were about to sacrifice the one thing that means the most to you in the world is not an easy thing to do. He was man enough to admit that and ask for my forgiveness." She walked over and looked him in the eye. "I love you, Will. Nothing will change that. All you have to do is give me one really good reason as to why this whole thing is a misunderstanding and I'll believe you."

"Fine. I would never, ever hurt my sister, Sydney. No matter what. I wouldn't risk Amy for the world. That should be a good enough reason for you."

She looked into his eyes, trying to ferret out if he was telling the truth. And the answers she was getting back from him weren't adding up to what she wanted to hear.

However, as if he knew how much she was suffering, Sark saved her the pain of having to tell Will she wasn't sure he was being honest. He stepped out of the shadows and walked in between where she and Will were standing. She was happy to realize that he had put away the gun.

"I believe him," Sark said, looking Will in the eye.

"He was here the whole time?" Will said in total disbelief. "You really don't trust me, do you, Syd?"

"I told you I wouldn't be alone, Will. He's my safety net." She glanced at Sark out of the corner of her eye as she eased herself back from where they were all standing. "And right now, you're lucky that my safety net seems to believe you. Could you please explain that, Julian?"

"He's not acting like he always did when we had phone conversations. The man I was in contact with was very confident in what he was doing. He knew what the Covenant was asking of him and wasn't bothered by it in the slightest. He actually reminded me of myself, believe it or not." He pointed at Will. "This man is definitely distraught with the fact that you believe him capable of betraying you, and he is definitely not me. I know for a fact he was the one I was in contact with, but I just don't know how it all fits together, what makes the whole thing make sense."

"Could we please stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Will asked.

"I wouldn't talk right now if I was you, Tippin," Sark warned, "or else I'm liable to change my mind and let Sydney turn you in to the CIA."

"What do you think happened?" Sydney asked.

"I don't know." He started to pace.

"There has to be something we can do," Sydney muttered after a few minutes of silence. "I love you both. And I just don't know what to believe anymore."

Sark paused and looked back and forth at her and Will. "I think I know a way to find out who to believe. It'll be a little bit of a gamble. but what isn't?" He looked over at Will. "And you're going to have to give me your trust."

"No way. Nope. I don't think so." Will backed away with his hands up. "This whole thing is too out of hand. I'm not going to start placing my faith in a cold-blooded killer."

Sydney gave him a cool look. "Right now a cold-blooded killer is the only one defending you. I want to believe you, Will, but in a life like I lead, I have to have proof. That's the way it has to be." She turned back to Sark. "What's the plan?"

"I think I can get our little friends at the Covenant to give away some important information that may help us figure out who's lying in this situation and what's really going on." He turned to smile wickedly at Will. "But first, I need to tie you to a chair."

"And I'm sure that pleases you immensely?"

"You have no idea." Sark smirked at him.

Sydney looked over at the man she had once considered the only person worthy of her trust. "Will, I know I may seem harsh and cold to you, but I honestly don't know how to handle this situation. I want to believe you so much. But I can't let it go that easily, not after what happened to Amy."

"You don't even know what Sark is planning."

"I trust him," she said, hoping Will would see how true she was being. "And if he knows a way that we can resolve this without any more pain, I'm willing to do whatever he wants."

She saw something shift in Will's eyes, and he stepped forward towards her. The pain in his eyes was clear as he held out his wrists to her. "Do whatever you have to."

"Sydney, why don't you go in the other room?" Sark said gently. "I can finish this up."

Nodding, she felt herself walk out of the room as if her whole body was on autopilot. She was shutting down.

When she was gone, Will turned to Sark. "Is it time for you to slip into the protective boyfriend role? Rough me up and let me know that if I am the one who has hurt Sydney I won't make it through the night?"

"Please," Sark said, motioning for him to sit down. "I might be a little callous, but I'm not a barbarian."

Will sat down in the chair as Sark walked over to search through the drawers and, a few minutes later, came up with what he was searching for. "I'm just going to handcuff you to the chair, and then tie you in place. It's just a precautionary measure. If what I believe is right, you'll thank me for doing it."

"I would be a hell of a lot more comfortable if you could just explain what exactly you're about to do."

"Oh, I'm just going to pretend like you tried to escape and shoot you." As soon as he saw Will's eyes widen in horror, he laughed. "Kidding. I told you I was callous."

Sark laughed to himself as he finished tying Will up. "Now I have an evil organization to call. Excuse me."

Will watched hopelessly as Sark left him alone in the room tied to a chair. When he had woken up that morning, he would never have dreamt that he would end up in this position, put there by one of his greatest friends in the whole world. But the world he had chosen to live in was the kind where things like this happened at the blink of an eye. He couldn't deny that.

For the life of him, he couldn't fathom why Sydney would doubt him when he said he had no idea what she was talking about. It was ridiculous to think that he was responsible for Amy being in the hospital. For christ sake, she was his own sister.

Sydney had believed him through the whole second double incident when Allison Doren tried to frame him for the crimes she had committed. She was the only person who gave him the benefit of the doubt and risked everything to prove he was innocent. That was one of the reasons it was so hard to believe that she didn't trust him now. The implications of his betrayal then were a lot worse than they were now.

If he had truly betrayed her, it was only an attempt to hurt Sydney herself. No one else, excluding Amy, had been hurt by the events of the past few weeks. She didn't think he was capable of betraying the trust of hundreds of people so why was he likely to betray her trust specifically?

His introspection was interrupted as Sark returned to the room. "So, what's the verdict?" he asked. "Am I evil?"

"That remains to be seen. I have a definite lead, but I'm not going to do anything until Sydney is more alert. These next few days are going to be hard on her."

Will stopped a moment and let Sark's words sink in. "I would never want to hurt Syd."

"Let's hope that you never did." In a rare display of emotion, he smiled at him weakly before opening the door to the bedroom he shared with Sydney. For Sydney's sake, he hoped that Will was right.


	22. The Next Step

For a moment when she woke up, Sydney allowed herself to believe that nothing was wrong. She let herself forget that Will was tied to a chair in her living room, that Amy was currently recovering from a near-fatal stab wound, that Sark still didn't believe her when she said he loved her...

"Wait," she thought, noticing an extra weight on the bed next to her. She reached her hand out hesitantly and was surprised when it hit something. Peaking out from under one eyelid, she couldn't believe what she saw.

Sark was lying next to her, sleeping in the clothes he had been wearing the night before. This was the image she had been hoping for so long to wake up to, and now, for whatever reason, it was here. She smiled to herself and snuggled in close to him. 

"At least there's something that I can appreciate," she thought to herself. She patted her stomach lightly. "This is a good man. He's going to be the best father to you. I know it. And don't you feel ashamed that I'm not telling him that you're in there. It's just not the right time now. But I'll tell him soon. I promise you."

The movement in the bed caused Sark to stir. Looking down, he realized that the woman he loved was also awake. "How are you doing?" he asked groggily.

"Is that an automatic question? Do you just wake up and say that?" she joked. "I'm fine. Let me rephrase that. I will be fine. Thank you."

"Why do you always sound guilty when I wake up?" He sighed and sat up. "I hope you don't mind that I slept in here. I didn't think Will would appreciate me sleeping on the couch while he was tied to a chair all night. I like to taunt him, but that would be overkill. And I was never one for overkill."

"Good plan." She got out of bed and went into the bathroom. "And just for the record, you don't ever have to worry about sleeping in my bed. You're always welcome."

He smirked to himself and stood up. Glancing quickly into the other room, he was happy to see Will was still safely secured to the chair. "I did my homework. Called Weiss last night."

"I'm sure that went well," Sydney mumbled, popping her head out of the bathroom, toothbrush in mouth.

"It actually went fabulous. I think I really scared him when I attacked Stephanie and made him watch."

"You made him watch? You didn't mention that before."

"Poetic justice. He made me watch you get hurt time and again for the past few weeks. Though I really didn't understand how horrible that was at the time." Sark paused as he fixed his hair in the mirror. "Wait. Maybe it was just normal justice."

Sydney flicked the light off in the bathroom as she came back out and sat on the bed. "So what did the big bad head of the Covenant have to say?"

"Well, after I told him that things weren't going to work out between you and I?" Seeing her amused grin, he added, "Just so you know it seems that you're just too good a person to me. I can't stand to be so straight-laced and good moral-ed all the time."

"I'll commit that to memory." She looked at him as she tied her hair back into a ponytail. "You should have added something about me deciding that you were a pompous ass and throwing various breakable objects at your head."

He looked at her in amazement. "Actually, I did. After he got over the fit of giggles that mental picture gave him, I explained the situation. Then I explained how I would gladly hand you to him on a silver platter. I told him I would need a little help though. And since I knew Tippin was in Brooklyn, I assumed it wouldn't be too hard to get him to offer that aid. Told him last time I saw him he seemed all too keen on hurting you."

She met his eyes in the bedroom mirror. "I'm still not used to the fact that Will is supposedly helping out the Covenant."

"I know. But it gets better. So, Weiss immediately objects to me contacting Tippin exactly like I thought he would. He says that there are certain protocols to be followed."

"What protocols?" 

"Exactly what I said. He demanded that I forget about contacting Will, which peeked my curiosity. At least, it would of if I hadn't already been curious. I mean, what was so important about keeping Tippin isolated from the rest of the Covenant? So I asked him what he would do if I did. He said that he wouldn't do anything, that I would just find Will to be a slightly different person than I remember."

"What does that mean?"

"Come here." Sark grabbed her hand and pulled out into the front room. He poked Will until he woke up. "Good morning, Will. Sorry, this is going to hurt a little."

Sydney watched in awe as Sark backhanded Will across the face and winced in pain as she heard the impact of his blow. "I know you said taunting him from your sleeping location on the couch was overkill. As the voice of reason in this situation, I want to let you know that what you just did might also be classified under that category."

"He has to be dazed," Sark explained. "Though I won't deny that that was a little fun."

"You need to stop hurting people for pleasure."

"But you like it so much when I do, love," Sark said with a wink. He walked over and sat down next to a slightly fazed Will. "So, Will. There's this quote I came across during a little research session I had last night. I was wondering if it meant anything to you. 'Death is not the worst thing that can happen to men. Living with your actions can be infinitely worse.' "

Sydney watched as Will's demeanor noticeably changed. Instead of hanging his head down like he had been, his posture became more rigid and self-assured. He began to pull violently at the bonds holding him to the chair. His eyes shifted over to look at her slowly. "Is there something you wanted Sydney? All you had to do was ask. Kidnapping was not necessary."

"Will?" she asked hesitantly, not believing the total change in his demeanor. It was almost as if he was possessed or had multiple personalities.

"Yeah, I'm in here, Syd. Doesn't it hurt a little to know that I was the one behind all those actions that hurt you so much? I took your little man away from you, and if it were up to me, you wouldn't have gotten him back."

Sydney looked at Sark, desperate for further explanation of what was going on. He was quick to explain. "It turns out that the Covenant is getting pretty good at this whole brainwashing technique. They implanted a little something extra in Will when he was in Witness Protection a few years ago without the CIA knowing. It seems that he was a sleeper agent. Isn't that right, Will? Came in pretty handy, didn't you?"

"You are going to pay for betraying me, you bastard," Will hissed. He pulled at the ropes and handcuffs again. "Weiss and Conway are not going to be happy with you."

"What are they going to do? Sit there and take another beating from me. I'm not scared."

"What do we do? How do we fix this?" Sydney asked frantically.

"That I don't know. Just relax for a moment, knowing that the Will you know and love didn't do anything to betray your trust." 

Sydney smiled at him, realizing that he did indeed know the perfect things to say in every situation. She was so put off by what was happening that she hadn't even recognized that the Will she knew was cleared of all malicious intent. "Thank you."

"Now do you understand why I had to restrain him? We wouldn't want him coming after another person you loved. I didn't want him coming after you."

She could feel her heart jump a little. It was nice having this semi-familiar Sark back in her life, the one that would say these little romantic things in the middle of interrogating her best friend about his unintentional betrayal of her trust. She looked over at the man in question. "Can we turn him back?"

"I believe so. Weiss didn't tell me how, but I have a good guess."

She didn't miss the fact that a sly, almost wicked grin had begun to spread on Sark's face. "What are you thinking?" she asked hesitantly.

He just grinned at her as he reached his right hand back and made a fist. "I'm thinking that I need to get this all out before I try to win back all your friends to my side." He delivered a hard uppercut to Will's jaw, effectively knocking him out cold. Rubbing his hand, he turned back to Sydney. "I hope he can forgive me for that."

"Oh, I don't think he's going to. So, your guess was that knocking him unconscious might cause him to revert back to his unbrainwashy state."

"Yeah. I'm hoping I'm right. But if I'm not..."

"...at least it was fun." She groaned and threw her hands up in the air. "You know I thought I wanted the old Sark back, but now that you're remembering, I'm starting to rethink what I wanted."

"Where are you going?" Sark called as she hit the button to call the elevator up to the penthouse level.

"I need to iron out a few things. Stay here and make sure that the Will that wakes up is the one we want."

Sark watched the elevator doors open and then shut with her behind them. He turned to the unconscious body of Will. "I think she might be a little peeved at me. Whoops."

He checked the ropes holding Will to the chair. Satisfied that he was still secure, Sark walked into the bedroom and started searching through Sydney's drawers. When he had found what he was looking for, he relaxed and sat down on the bed.

"I hope she doesn't notice this is missing," he said as he slipped the small ring box into his pocket and took out his cell phone. Like always, he had calls to make.

* * *

Sydney took her cell phone out of her pocket the second she stepped off of the elevator. Dialing a number that was all too familiar, she waited for her father to pick up the phone at his CIA desk. When he didn't pick up that phone or his cell phone, she chalked it up to being on a mission or otherwise occupied.

Grumbling only a little, she shoved that little conversation onto a shelf and called one of the other men she trusted at the CIA. "Vaughn. It's Sydney."

"You heard the news," Vaughn said.

Sydney's heart dropped. A few unpleasant scenarios started running through her head, the worst being that Vaughn knew all about Will's betrayal and was in on it, too. "What news?" she asked hesitantly.

"Amy woke up from her coma."

She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh. Yes, I knew that. I was there with--" She cut herself off realizing that she probably shouldn't mention Noah to Vaughn.

"With who, Syd?" Vaughn said. He waited for an answer. When she didn't respond, he started to chuckle. "I know about Noah Hicks. He was the one that called the CIA to let them know that Amy was going to be all right. He's at the hospital under CIA supervision right now."

"You're not going to arrest him, are you?"

"That remains to be seen. But that's not why you called, Syd. How are you doing?"

"I've been better, but it's been a lot worse. I'm sorry I haven't been in contact with you since Tokyo."

"Come on. You've been a little busy. I understand that. How are things going with Sark?"

"Good. I think he's recovering his memory. I'm not afraid of him betraying me anymore."

"I wouldn't let your guard down just yet. If I remember correctly, Sark was an exceptional liar. He couldn't put on a mission alias for the life of him, but his whole life is practically an alias."

"Maybe to you it is, but not to me. I know him, Vaughn. And I know that right now he is not going to betray me."

Vaughn could sense that she was starting to get upset. "I'm sorry. You called me for a reason, and I just jumped down your throat spouting off warnings."

"It's okay. How is Tyler doing? He hasn't been traumatized by everything that's been going on, has he?" She smiled at William as he held the door open for her.

"No. He keeps asking for that crazy women he met in Miami, though. I think he's developed a little crush on you, which isn't too uncommon here at the CIA. I wish you would visit us a little more often. We miss you here."

"If you're trying to get me to come back to the CIA, it's not going to work."

"I'm not, I swear. I'm just trying to get you to realize that just because Sark is in your life, you don't have to cut the rest of us out of it. I know that most of us weren't too receptive the first time you mentioned him. I think we can all warm up to the idea now, though. We miss you, Syd."

"Thanks, Vaughn. I promise when this whole thing blows over, I'll try really hard to visit." She reached out her hand and hailed a taxi. "LaGuardia please," she said to the taxi driver.

"Why are you going to the airport, Syd?" Vaughn asked.

"To meet the CIA team you're going to send out here."

"And why am I sending a team out to you? What did you do now?"

"Nothing that's put the world in jeopardy, I assure you. At least not this time. Sark and I found out who our mole was."

"Who?"

Sydney took a deep breath. "Now don't fly off the handle. It's Will."

"What?" Vaughn screamed. "Will has been trying to kill you?"

"It's not what it sounds like. Okay, maybe it's exactly what it sounds like. But there are extenuating circumstances. But first, I need you to send a team out to get Will. He's in our penthouse right now."

"Alone?"

"No, Sark's with him. And don't even tell me that I shouldn't have left the two of them alone. For the last time, Julian is not going to betray me." She took a deep breath and exhaled her small frustration. "I need the CIA to put Will into a holding cell for a little while."

"That can be arranged. How did this all happen?"

"Hold on," Sydney insisted. "When the team picks up Will, I don't want them to treat him like an enemy of the state. He's to be escorted all the way back to Los Angeles without being put into handcuffs or restraints. Put him in one of the cells like the one they held my mother in. Give him anything he wants within reason. Treat him like you would normally treat Will. Do you have all that?"

"Yes," Vaughn said hesitantly.

"Okay. Go. Get that team assembled. Give them those instructions. Then, you can call me back, and I'll explain why Will isn't our enemy."

"If this doesn't show you how much faith I still have in you, I don't know what will," Vaughn said before hanging up to do what she told him.

Sydney smiled to herself. Things in her life were beginning to return to normal. She dialed her father's cell phone number again as the cab went across the Triborough Bridge. This time she was happy to hear her father's gruff voice answer on the other end.

"Hi, Dad," she said. "Are you busy?"

"Not right now, no. I just finished writing up the report on my mission in Uzbekistan."

"Good. I was wondering if you might be able to get some time off work to come to the City. I have something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Is anything the matter?"

"No, I just want your opinion on something I'm debating."

"And you can't ask for this opinion over the phone?"

"Not exactly. It would be better if you just came out here. You could see Mom." 

"What makes you think that I want to see Irina?"

Sydney groaned. "You know you two really need to cut out all the emotional angst and just have it out. I'm tired of you both pretending like her whole betrayal of you was fine and that the six years you spent together really meant nothing."

"That is not the way to convince me to come to see you."

"Just come out here," Sydney said, slamming the cell phone shut. It was so frustrating to talk to her father sometimes. She sat silently in the cab and watched the buildings pass her by as she waited for Vaughn to call her back. This whole situation with Will would have to be explained just the right way if she was going to get the CIA to treat Will with some respect and care.


	23. Will

"Here I am in a 'padded cell' again," Will thought to himself as he stretched out on the cot. He didn't know how Sydney had managed it, but it felt completely different in the cell than the last time he was here. In fact, the guards had smiled at him. For being a traitor of the state, he was actually being treated rather nice.

He looked around the cell, trying to take it all in. The whole situation seemed all too familiar and deja vu like for him to fully comprehend what was happening. All he knew at this moment was for the first time, he was beginning to question why he had chosen to become an agent in the first place.

Really, it had all started when Sydney disappeared. Everyone had his or her reactions to the loss, Vaughn's being the worse. If he had had as bad as reaction as Vaughn, no one was around to see it. He understood that they were all busy trying to deal with Sydney's departure in both the professional and personal sense.

That didn't make it any less hard that he was stuck in a cold hospital room with little to no updates about what was going on. The only information he got was the kind he really didn't want to hear. The CIA had requested that after the hospital released him, he go into the Witness Protection Program. It was for his own safety, they claimed. Really, he figured it was for the government's safety. They had let the whole second double issue and Allison Doren slip through the cracks. Will was the constant reminder of this little screw-up.

When he woke up after his body had healed and found out that his only option was to hide, he was not happy and refused to go willingly to some small town in Wisconsin to live out his life as a construction worker. Sydney was gone, and he wanted to find out the real reason why.

He pleaded with Director Kendall and got sanctioned to be a double agent in the Covenant. At the time, he wasn't aware that was what he was getting into. The whole idea of becoming an agent seemed the perfectly correct thing to do in the beginning, but now it sounded rather ludicrous. Will had still no idea how he convinced Kendall to let a non-field rated government employee infiltrate one of the fastest growing enemy organizations.

But Kendall did. Will started out rather small, trying to gain the Covenant's trust. The truth was he was too focused on figuring out if Sydney was really dead to invest that much in his operation right away. He knew that the only lead he had was a few passing remarks by some of his contacts on an up and coming power. His contacts gave him other contacts, and, as he adjusted to Sydney's death, it just snowballed from there.

Stupidly, he agreed to let the Covenant test him to make sure he was committed to the cause. In his mind, the whole thing sounded harmless. The thought of them altering anything inside of him was not one he had at the time.

"And look where that took me," he said, banging softly on the cell wall. He saw the guards look up at him and gave them a smile and a wave.

Once the Covenant had been sure of his loyalty to them, they allowed him a minimal clearance. With that clearance, he was able to send Kendall specific files he thought pertained to what had happened to his best friend. He never realized that Sydney was working just down the hall from him.

Kendall had eased off him slowly throughout the two years that Sydney was missing. In retrospect, Will realized that was because Kendall knew Sydney was indeed alive and working for the Covenant. It made him question why Kendall kept him in the organization at all, but that was a question that would probably never be answered.

When Sydney resurfaced and contacted the CIA, Kendall ordered his immediate withdrawal from the Covenant. At first, Will refused stating that he was too far in to just pull himself out. He also brought up the point that there were many different sources of intel he had yet to discover. The CIA would still need a person on the inside now that Sydney wasn't there any longer. Somewhere along the line, his work at the Covenant had stopped being about vindication and started to be his attempt to help rid the world of an organization it didn't need.

After understanding that if Sydney knew he was also working for the Covenant it would probably send her into a downward spiral, Will agreed to do exactly what everyone else thought he was doing. He became Jonah, the Wisconsin construction worker, just like the CIA had always wanted.

He found that the construction life was not as bad as he thought, and he even started having a crush for an artist on the floor below him. Foolishly, he let himself get out of the dangerous life he had been living day to day for the past two years. The second he did that, like clockwork, Sydney suddenly appeared at his side, claiming she needed his help.

Will tried his best to cover up all the evidence that he hadn't been in Wisconsin during the time she was missing. If she hadn't been so distracted, she probably would have noticed immediately that he was lying. But she was caught up in her ransacked life like always. Sydney never seemed to get a break.

So Will let her pull him out of Witness Protection. When she was done using him for what she needed, he secretly returned to some of the work he had been doing with the Covenant. His normal life was shattered, and in all actuality, he knew that he would never be able to truly create an average life for himself. Sydney had made that clear to him time and again, but he wasn't really angry with her. If it were her choice, she would never have caused him all the pain that she had in the past.

Kendall kept Dixon in the loop about what was going on with both Will and Sydney since the day that Sydney called him from Rome and Dixon happened to be in the office. When Will told Dixon that he was going to try to get more information on the Covenant and what they had done to Sydney, Dixon didn't stop him. He knew a little bit about revenge eating its way through you if you didn't try to do something about it.

Will didn't have any success in finding new information. It was like all the communication channels he had previously used were closed. Something had gone on during his brief time in Witness Protection, but he couldn't pinpoint what that was.

He now knew that it was Weiss's defection to the Covenant's payroll that had changed things. The Covenant didn't see him as such a great asset when they had someone with a little power in the CIA now working for them. It wasn't worth the risk to leak information to Will any longer.

Frustrated with his lack of new findings, he gave up on trying to help take down the Covenant. He had never really been cut out for the job anyway. The only reason he got into it in the first place was to see if there was proof that Sydney was alive. Now that she was back, his desire to help the CIA take down the Covenant had disappeared and he didn't feel compelled to try to find it again.

The normal work of a CIA analyst kept him busy for over a year, but eventually, it became boring. After being an active agent for three years, he couldn't just let himself do the important but rather monotonous work of an analyst.

Will returned to his first love, journalism. Now that he had the CIA's full support behind him, he had no trouble finding a position at one of the more respectable papers. He was no longer saddled to the travel stories and weather reports. The CIA had somehow wiped his fictitious heroin problem completely off his record and kept anyone from questioning where it had gone.

He was just finally getting used to a normal life again when Sydney reemerged in his life to drop a few bombshells on him. One, like always, she needed his help to save another loved one. Two, she was marrying said love one. Three, that special someone was the one man that Will hated with a vengeance.

After that things just got progressively worse. Amy forced him to go to Tokyo with Sydney, and then he got left behind to help a woman hang her laundry. Though in retrospect, if what Sydney and Sark were telling him was true, he was really the one that positioned himself to go to Tokyo. Amy had no part in that, and Sydney managed to foil his evil plans anyway.

"Evil plans," he mumbled to himself with a laugh as he watched a fly buzz around the cell. "Imagine me having evil plans."

It was strange knowing that he did things that he couldn't remember. And it was also frustrating to know that he had recognized that something was wrong and had done nothing to stop it. He had been blacking out for weeks, but he attributed it to the stress of having to live a normal life again and some leftover compensation for the horrors he was forced to witness when he worked for the Covenant.

And that's when it hit him. The startling realization that he was performing some horrific things himself.

For instance, stabbing Amy.

He had almost killed his own sister, and he didn't even know it.

And now he couldn't even go to her hospital room to explain. He would have to rely on Sydney to go tell her what was going on and explain that he didn't fully understand what he was doing at the time.

"Why is it that when push comes to shove, I always seem to be relying on Sydney?" he asked himself out loud.

"Because she gets things done," answered a voice from outside the cell.

Will turned to see Vaughn peering in at him. "Any news on the is-Will-a-double-agent-or-triple-agent-or-is-he-an-agent-at-all front?"

"No," Vaughn answered. "You should thank Sydney for making your stay so comfortable."

"I would, but I don't think all this comfort has to do with what she's told you."

"And what does it have to do with?"

"The fact that the CIA is embarrassed and ashamed that they have partial responsibility in this. I wouldn't have had ties to the Covenant if they hadn't let me try to infiltrate it."

"Your story hasn't checked out yet, so I wouldn't be spouting that off as a reason quite yet."

"Kendall can't be reached?"

"He's working on some project in the Cayman Islands."

"What about Dixon?"

"Dixon's only moderately familiar with your operation. And everything is getting so confusing around here that he's not sure if we can believe you quite yet."

"Things are more confusing than normal?" Will asked.

Vaughn sat down on a chair that was leaning against the wall. "Yeah. I can't keep track of all the ties everyone has to the Covenant. It seems like every one of us has either worked for the Covenant at one time or has been brainwashed by them. I'm starting to wonder about this incestuous relationship that the CIA has with the Covenant."

"Like maybe the Covenant is really a part of the CIA? Because if you're going to go there, I think you might need to start seeing Dr. Barnett again,' Will suggested. "I bet we can get a group rate. Or dual sessions on dealing with the Covenant and dealing with the revolving door of life that keeps resurrecting all of us from the dead."

Vaughn nodded and got a little too silent for Will's liking.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Will asked.

"It's a little hard to sit here and talk to you when you're acting so normal. You've been the person that I've been tracking for the past few weeks. I imagined it being Anna or Sydney's mother. Someone who has been known to have flexible loyalties. I never expected it to be one of my friends."

Will looked at Vaughn carefully. "You're not going to tell Sydney about my working for the Covenant under orders of the CIA, are you?"

"That's still classified, Will. For now. The only reason I know is because Sydney chose me to come pick you up from New York, and that information was necessary for me to know if you were going to arrive here safely."

"The CIA thinks that the intel I uncovered is still good, don't they?" Will stood up and walked over to the glass. "They're willing to let my life be torn in two as long as they keep profiting. If I didn't know better, I'd think the CIA is the bad guy in this situation, not the Covenant."

"Don't start saying things like that Will," Vaughn said, standing up. "It will make your stay with us a lot harder than it should be."

Will just stared at him. He was getting tired of his friends' thinking that he would willingly betray them. Maybe it was time he started acting like they thought he should.

Vaughn sighed. "I'll try to hurry things along, but it's still going to take a while to check out your story. And even if it does check out, you're going to have to stay here until we can figure out a way to reverse whatever the Covenant did to your head."

Will turned his back on his friend and walked back to the cot. Yeah, he was getting tired of this whole situation.


	24. Returning to the Mission

Sydney had forgotten how much she loved being in places like these. Train stations, bus depots, airport terminals. There were so many people, coming and going. There were happy reunions and tearful goodbyes. It was so real and raw. Something she had never experienced. Her tearful goodbyes and happy reunions always seemed to happen at the oddest places, never something as simple as an airport.

She had been sitting in one of the many areas of airport chairs waiting for her father for two hours. There was bound to be a gap between the CIA's arrival to pick up Will and her father's arrival. Her father would have had to take a commercial flight, while the CIA flew their team out on one of their many jets, probably from Langley, not L.A. Though, the team would be taking Will back to L.A. She had made it clear that he was not to be held in any facility except for that one, the one he was familiar with.

Engrossed in her thoughts and observations, she didn't notice her father until he was right in front of her. "Hi, Daddy," she said absentmindedly, still scanning the terminal.

"What is wrong, Sydney? And don't lie and tell me it's nothing," Jack demanded. 

"Isn't it always something?" she said smiling at him weakly. "Let's go."

She stood up and hooked her arm with his. He let her lead him out of the airport without a word. Whatever she had to say to him, it was clear that she wanted no one else to overhear. They had superficial conversation about the meaningless parts of their life the whole time that Sydney was driving.

When they were safely inside the warehouse she had taken them to on the outskirts of the city, Jack finally lost his cool. "You need to tell me what's going on right now, Sydney."

She sighed and looked at her father. "I would have told you more gently if you weren't so damn demanding, Dad. I'm pregnant."

Jack just stared at her in surprise. The motion of his jaw opening and shutting without a word coming out was priceless. "Weren't expecting that one, were you?" she asked. "And before you get up the nerve to ask, of course Julian is the father."

"Have you been to the doctor?" Jack finally asked.

"Yes. I've been to the doctor. I'm only a little over two months along now. The reason I wasn't telling anyone was at first I wasn't sure, and then when I was sure, Julian wasn't with me any longer. I didn't want to be blaring my problems out to anyone who listened. And I didn't think he'd appreciate being the last one to know."

"Is the baby all right after you getting shot?"

"The baby's fine. The bullet only grazed my side, and before you ask, the exertion of the past few weeks hasn't affected it either. I'm not that far along that my life is a danger."

"Your life is always a danger," Jack mumbled and then got surprisingly silent.

"What's wrong?' Sydney asked.

"It's a little hard adjusting to the fact that I'm going to be a grandfather."

Sydney chuckled to herself as a memory popped into her head. "You should have seen Mom when I told her she was going to be a grandmother. An attractive and well-fit grandma, but a grandma none the less."

"I can imagine Irina just going berserk."

"Actually, she took it rather well. I mean, it might have been due partially to the fact that I was having an emotional breakdown when I told her." Seeing the concerned look on her father's face, she added, "I had a bad day with Sark not remembering anything and all."

"Has Sark started to recover any of him memories?"

"Yes. He seems to be getting back to his normal self. He's not keeping secrets any longer, that's for sure."

"He was keeping secrets from you?" Sydney could practically see her father slipping into his protective mode. "Was he putting you into danger?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. It's a grey area. He considered betraying me to the Covenant, but he didn't. And he knew who the mole was and didn't tell me at first. He told me eventually, though. So that must mean something." 

"You're too forgiving with that boy."  
  
She looked at her father in shock. "And you're starting to judge him by what he was again. I thought I asked you to stop doing that."

Realizing his mistake, Jack grasped Sydney's hand and looked at her solemnly. "I have something important I want to say to you that I should have said a long time ago. You're my only daughter, Sydney. So I know that I'm protective over you. In the life we lead, I think I have that right. I don't want to see you getting hurt because you've given your heart to a man who doesn't deserve you."

He saw Sydney object and gave her a look that silenced her immediately. "I didn't agree with your choice in loving a known murderer, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt. He earned his chance by contacting me when you got shot. I told him at the time that he had my respect in being able to do something that wasn't necessarily good or convenient for him, but something that needed to be done for your well being. From that point on, little by little, I think I began to see why you care so much for Mr. Sark."

Sydney smiled at her father and squeezed his hand as he continued. "Time and again, he has shown the kind of man he truly is. I don't know what caused him to start out his life as such a ruthless person. As soon as he met you, he changed. I know that he would never admit it, but he gave up the life he was familiar with because of you. You could never survive in that world, Sydney. I think Sark realized that he couldn't survive in his world without you."

At this point, Sydney wanted to hug her father so much. She knew that this was hard for him to say. But she quelled that impulse and let him keep talking. "I think that Sark is extremely deserving of your affections, and I'm not at all displeased that he is going to be bringing a child into this world with you. He has proven himself to me."

"Thank you," Sydney said when she was sure that he was done. "And I want to remind you that he was going to marry me before all this craziness happened. We were engaged. I don't know what we are now, but we were engaged then. And he didn't even know about the baby."

"Just another sign that he's earned this," Jack said with a rare smile. "Now that that's done. Could you tell me a little more about this mole you spoke of?"

* * *

Sydney had just finished explaining the whole situation with Will and Amy's stabbing and Noah's resurrection to her father when her cell phone rang. The call came up as being from Vaughn's desk at the CIA headquarters. If it were anyone else, she probably would have let it keep ringing.

"Vaughn. Give me some good news."

"I have news. You can decide if it's good or bad. Will Tippin has been the person sabotaging you. But the CIA did find traces of tampering in his brainwaves. So it looks like the Covenant did force him to do whatever he's done to hurt you. The CIA has cleared him."  
  
"That's good news," Sydney said. "So, have they figured out a way to reverse that process permanently?"

"Not yet. He's still being held in custody until we can figure out a way."

"Good."

"Good? How can that be good?" Like normal, Sydney's words were throwing him off. The girl never did or said anything that could be classified as predictable.

"Because I need him. I've had a goal for the past three years that I never achieved. It's been on the back burner for too long. And I need Will to help me."

"What are you talking about?" Vaughn asked, knowing that he really didn't want to know the answer.

"I'm taking down the Covenant, once and for all." Her father's visibly paled and he got a none too pleased look on his face. She smiled at her father's reaction. "Want to help?"

Vaughn sighed. "As much as it kills me, you know that I'm in."

"Good. I'm going to fly out to L.A. with my parents and Sark."

"I don't think you should bring Irina here."

"I'm not stupid. She's not going to set foot into the building, but she is going to help me plan out how this whole thing is going to go down."

"And I suppose that you don't want me to tell anyone about this?"

"No. Tell whomever you want. See if you can get Lauren, Marshall, and Dixon to help. They're not going to have to put themselves in danger for me this time, but I sure could use help planning."

Vaughn laughed. "I think you're growing up, Sydney. Asking for help was never really your strong suit. If I remember correctly, you liked to act impulsively and blow things up."

"We each do what we're best at. I'll see you in a few hours." Sydney snapped her phone shut. "Ready to go back to L.A.?" 

"I have nothing better to do," Jack said with a laugh. "And besides this gives me the opportunity to intimidate your boyfriend again. I mean, he can't remember all our previous little talks. I guess I have to start from square one."

"If you scare him off, so help me god..." Sydney trailed off, letting her threat sink in, as they left the warehouse and headed home to her penthouse.

* * *

Sydney managed to keep her father and Sark from conversing with each other for too long a period. Her dad might have admitted that he respected Sark, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to lose his temper and try to kill him. Calling him overprotective was an understatement.

Like normal, almost immediately after Sydney had convinced Sark that the CIA would not arrest him when they arrived at LA, Jack's cell phone rang, and he told them he had to take the call. To Sydney, it always seemed like her father was receiving these phone calls. His life was so heavily imbedded in the CIA that it was almost becoming unhealthy.

Sydney pulled Sark over to the couch and sat down, leaning against him. "So, we have a private moment it looks like."

"That it does," he said kissing the top of her head.

"According to tradition, that means one of us needs to say something inappropriate that will start a round of arguments and accusations. I, for one, am not up to that."

Sark noticed her tone of voice immediately. "But?"

"But I do have something I want to ask you." She sat up and looked him in the eye. "I know that your memory still isn't that great, but it is coming back to you. So I thought you might be able to explain something I was wondering about."

"I will if you skip the set-up and get straight to the question," he joked.

"When you and I went to rescue Tyler Vaughn from the Covenant, you said something that was slightly odd. We were yelling at one another because you wanted me to take Tyler and run and I didn't want to leave you behind." She poked him hard in the side. "Which, in retrospect, I was right not to want to leave you behind."

"It all worked out, though."

"True. Anyway, you said that Tyler was more important than either one of us. Which was odd. And I wanted to know if you remember what you meant. Did you know something that I didn't?"

He sighed and looked at her intently. "Actually, that I do remember. It seems that the Covenant thought young Tyler was the key to some prophecy. You know how it is with these evil organizations, always trying to figure out some random prophecy and shelving the responsibility of it on some innocent person."

"That wasn't so bad," she said, relaxing slightly.

"There's more," Sark said hesitantly. "It seems that there's another half to the prophecy. But I don't know what it is. All I know is that Tyler Vaughn isn't the only component the Covenant is searching for."

"There's someone else they want?"

"Or something. I really have no idea. I mean, I don't even know the prophecy they're referring to. For all I know, they might actually profit from what's supposed to happen."

"I doubt that if they were so intent on hurting Tyler."

Sark wagged his finger at her playfully. "You forget. They didn't hurt Tyler in the slightest. They only hurt you and I. There could be a reason for that."

"You think the other half of the prophecy has something to do with us?"

"I don't know. You're the prophecy expert. I mean, this will be what your... Eighteenth? Nineteenth?... prophecy you're involved in?"

She smacked him hard. "I have nothing to do with that. I can't help it if some mysterious scientist from the past had a thing with my genetic structures. It's not like I want to be known as the woman in the prophecy."

Jack reentered the room, effectively putting an end to the prophecy talk. "That was just Dixon telling me something about the next operation I have to go on. After I got off the phone with him, I took the liberty of calling your mother. She insists upon coming with us all the way into the CIA facility."

"Why would she do that?" Sark asked.

"She says that she has some business to take care of there."

"Business? In the CIA headquarters?" Sydney shook her head. "Unbelievable."

"It's a very Irina thing to do," Sark pointed out. He stood up and stretched. "Is she meeting us at the airport?"

Jack nodded. "I don't think the CIA will be too happy when they realize they've provided air transportation for two of the people who once graced their Most Wanted List."

"I recall that you were once on that list too, Jack," Sark said with a smirk.

"That didn't count. I was looking for Sydney."

Sydney rolled her eyes and walked between where the two men were standing over to the elevator. "Let's go. And please, can we have a little peace for the flight to LA? I can't take it when you two start trying to play the who's-the-dominant-male game."

Jack and Sark smirked at one another as Sydney stomped into the elevator. They silently followed her.

As the elevator doors slid shut, Sydney said without looking at them, "Anyway, we all know that if anyone's the dominant male, it's me."


	25. Disappearing

The flight wasn't as horrible as Sydney had imagined it could be. Her father and Sark didn't converse that much. That was mostly because Irina took up all of Sark's attention. She was intrigued by the whole memory erasing job the Covenant did on him and wanted to see what the after effects were. Seems she had a naturally inquisitive mind.

Most women would feel a little insecure when their fairly attractive mothers started pawing their boyfriends, but in Sydney's family, that's what passed for normal.

Sydney spent most of the flight staring out the window. She had a lot of explaining to do to Sark about the fact they were going to have a baby. In the back of her head, there was a small voice nagging her to just come out and tell him. But she couldn't. Not when the whole Covenant issue was unsettled. She wasn't willing to stir up both their lives with a child if she couldn't insure the baby would be protected.

Telling her mother and father about the baby had made things a little easier. It was nice to know that someone else would be helping her look out for it's safety. She needed that to stay sane, which was probably the only reason she had told them before she told Sark. But she knew that was all she needed. No one else would know what was going on until both she and Sark were ready for them to know.

The flight was as calm as could be expected from the four of them.

The real trouble that Sydney had been sure would happen sometime started when they got off the plane. Vaughn met them at the gate by himself. If she hadn't been in such a serious circumstance, she would have laughed at his reaction, or should she say reactions, to their arrival.

She stepped out of the boarding gate first and saw him smile an extremely familiar smile. No matter what happened, she and Michael Vaughn would always worry about one another when they weren't in contact. It was no longer romantic, but it was still there. They had a connection.

Her father came next, which made Vaughn turn the smile down a notch. It seemed he still hadn't broken his habit of being intimidated by Jack Bristow, and he didn't think he'd ever forget that in Jack's eyes he would never be good enough for her daughter.

Sark was next, and she saw the smile erase completely. In its place was a look of concentration. He didn't trust Julian. It also didn't help that her father, for whatever reason, approved of Sark. There was no reasoning behind it, but she knew that Vaughn knew and that it bothered him.

When her mother finally stepped out, the concentration on his face went straight out the window. Instead, his face was full of complete horror and indecision. He really had no idea what to do with the fact that one of the most wanted criminals was standing in the same airport terminal as him. This was not the kind of thing that CIA training taught you to deal with.

"Don't arrest her," Sydney whispered in his ear as she gave him a quick hug. "At least not until you've heard her crazy plan as to how we're going to pull this of. And after she tells you she wants to go into the facility alongside us."

"She can't," Vaughn answered simply, shaking his head.

"I am," Irina said determinately walking past him. "Assistant Director Dixon agreed to it."

Vaughn grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. "Dixon didn't say a word to me."

"That's because I just got him to agree as I was exiting the plane." Irina wiggled the cell phone that was in the palm of her hand.

"And how did you do that?" Sydney wanted to know. Her mother was truly amazing sometimes. This was one of those times.

"I explained to him that I have the best of intentions."

"We thought you had the best of intentions when we let you access Echelon that day. That didn't turn out so well," Jack pointed out.

"I wish you people would stop doubting me. I'm only underhanded and sneaky when the situation calls for it. This one doesn't. Besides, I assure Mr. Dixon that I wouldn't be compromising national security." No one failed to notice a slight smile in the corner of her mouth. "At least not today."

Vaughn sighed loudly while turning around and began to walk down the concourse. "You know I'm going to call Dixon and check this one out."

"Go ahead," Irina said, following him. "I'm telling the truth."

"That's something new."

Jack followed Vaughn and Irina without saying another word, leaving Sydney and Sark alone to head up the rear. "So, do you know what business your mother has in the CIA's facilities?"

"I have no idea," Sydney said. She looked at Sark out of the corner of her eye. "And that scares me to no extent."

"Things wouldn't be right if your mother wasn't making you confused and scared all at once." Sark slipped his hand into hers. "At least things are starting to return to normal. It's just too bad that our level of normal is so highly abnormal."

Sydney let out a deep breath and leaned her head into the crook of his arm as they followed the rest of their group out of the airport.

* * *

Vaughn flashed his badge, and the whole crew was let in through the front doors of the CIA offices. Sydney had to admit it was nice not having to hide for once. They walked down the halls in silence, and after quickly signing in, they found themselves standing in the middle of a rather familiar rotunda.

"So, who did you get to help us?" Sydney finally asked. She had been delaying asking Vaughn for fear that her friends had finally gotten tired of continuously offering her help.

"Not as many people as were there to help you find Sark," Vaughn admitted. "I mean, Amy's in the hospital still."

"How's she doing?" She took a seat at one of the tables in the briefing room that Vaughn led them into.

"She's okay. She hasn't lost consciousness again, but she's still trying to recover. The CIA has her under observation in the small med wing upstairs. What Will did to her was pretty severe."

"How is Will doing?"

"He's coping with his supposed actions. He still can't believe that he stabbed his own sister and then tried to kill you, Syd. I think it's tearing him up inside."

"He'll get over it," Sark said as he took a seat next to Sydney. At their horrified looks, he added, "I mean, it's not like Sydney isn't going to forgive him. If she can forgive me for all the stupid things I've done, then Will has nothing to worry about.

Sydney shook her head and laughed lightly, turning back towards Vaughn. "So, is there anyone else available?" 

"Will and Noah are both in CIA custody. Lauren is on vacation with her family and Tyler. Marshall's agreed to help with the op tech, but we both know how he is on the actual missions. Not your number one choice for a partner. How about Anna Espinosa? Is she an option?"

"No," Sark said rather blatantly.

She rolled her eyes. "Anna isn't available right now. She's busy... doing... something." Sydney couldn't believe she had almost told Vaughn that Anna was busy working for her mother. No one was supposed to know about Irina's agenda, especially not a loyal employee of the US government.

"I'll let that one slide," Vaughn said as he turned his attention to Dixon who had just walked in.

"Tell me again why I let Irina in here," he immediately asked.

Sark raised his hand. "Because she's incredibly good at manipulating you stupid bastards?"

Dixon looked at Sydney. "Tell me again why I let Sark in here."

Sydney smiled. "I can't even answer that one, but thank you."

"It's all right. So, I just wanted to let you guys know that you have my unofficial support. I can't offer it officially seeing as half of you are or were wanted criminals." Dixon got a funny look on his face. "Come to think of it. You were all wanted by the CIA at some point in the past ten years."

"It's something about the family," Sark supplied. "It makes you want to commit a crime."

Sydney rolled her eyes again at her boyfriend's comments. "Thank you, Dixon. I understand that Marshall's going to be helping us get some of the technology up and going."

"Officially, no. Unofficially, yes. The CIA thinks that Marshall is going to be on vacation the next day or so. In reality, he's gong to be here working on your op tech. I'm sorry that there's not anything more I can do."

"It's okay," she said honestly. "In all actuality, the only two of us going in are Sark and I."

"This is news to me," Jack said, sitting up straight.

"Me, too," Irina added, raising her eyebrow. She was definitely intrigued by Sydney. It seemed her daughter was becoming more like her everyday. "Do you think that's wise?"

Sydney sent her mother a icy glare. She knew her mother was referring to the fact that she was pregnant. "I thought it over and decided it's in everyone's best interest." She put a large emphasis on everyone to get her point across to her mother. "It's too risky if a whole bunch of us went it. Sark and I are going to go in, do what has to be done, and get out. The less people to keep track of, the better."

Dixon nodded. "So, why did you have to come to LA? We both know that I could have figured out a way to give Marshall time to come to you in New York."

Sydney smiled at Dixon, causing him to start to get nervous. She only smiled like that when she knew she was about to ask for something ridiculous and impossible to get. "What do you want?"

"I lied a little a few seconds ago. When I said Sark and I were going to be the only two people going, I meant the only two former spies. I want Will to come with us to Tokyo."

"You want a mentally unstable man to accompany you to a foreign country? Out of the question."

"It's really important that he does come with us." Sydney turned to Sark, pleading with her eyes for him to help her.

"Sydney and I think we've come up with a way to get him to help us, no matter if he's normal Will or psychotic Will. So, it wouldn't be that bad."

"And are you going to return him when you're done?" Dixon asked.

"Probably."

"Probably is not good enough for me in this situation."

"It's all I can give you." Sydney stood up and walked over to where Dixon was standing. "I need your help on this one. Please."

He nodded slowly after a moment. "I'll help. But I'm telling you right now that I can't get him officially released."

"But you can let him escape," Sark supplied.

"Yes." Dixon sighed and made his way over to the door. "Be at the C Wing doors at about midnight tonight. Will will be there. Jack, could you come with me? I have a few things to talk to you about one of your upcoming missions."

"Thank you," Sydney said for the millionth time.  
  
"I wish I could say make this the last time I have to do some ridiculous, outlandish favor for you, but I know that you'll be asking for another one in a week or two."

Sydney watched Dixon walk out of the office with her father before she turned to Sark. "I love that man."

"He's starting to grow on me, too," Sark said with a smirk.

Vaughn walked over to Sydney and Sark. "There's something you need to know, though."

"What now?" Sark asked, shaking his head.

Vaughn scowled at him. "Will is a field-certified agent with the CIA. He went undercover when you went missing for those two years, Syd."

Sydney stared at him in disbelief. Sark made a wisecrack to take a little of the tension out of the situation. "First, he's a psychotic brainwashee. Now you expect me to believe that the CIA put him through training and threw him out into the field."

"You wouldn't know about it. It all happened when you were locked up," Vaughn pointed out. "Will infiltrated the Covenant in an attempt to figure out why you had to die."

"But I pulled him out of Witness Protection," she commented.

"By the time you went to Wisconsin, he really was in Witness Protection. He quit working for the Covenant shortly after you, as Julia Thorne, made contact with Kendall. If you knew someone so familiar was working alongside you, they both believed it would send you into a downward spiral. Kendall needed you on the inside. So he pulled Will out, and Will came willingly."

"And then I had to go and screw him life up once again." Sydney blinked her tears back. "He was happy in Wisconsin, you know? I had to ruin that."

Sark realized that the conversation was getting a little too hard on Sydney and tried to steer it back to a safer topic. "So that must have been when the Covenant screwed with his head?"

"We believe that they used a brainwashing technique to place a dormant suggestion into his subconscious. He didn't know they did it until you two caught him red-handed so to speak."

"So, he was telling the truth?" Sydney asked.

"Looks like it. But the CIA is still not one hundred percent positive. Hence Dixon's inability to get him released officially." Vaughn looked over at Sydney and saw a strange look cross her face. "What's the matter?"

Sydney looked around the room wildly. "My father left with Dixon, and the three of us have been talking since then. So where the hell did my mother go?"

"Shit," Vaughn muttered to himself.

Sark watched him run out of the room and leaned back in his chair. "This can't be good."


	26. No AC

Sydney leaned back against the soft cushiony padding of the backseat, feeling the sweat softly drip down her face. She pushed it away with the back of her hand. It normally wasn't this hot at this time of year, but when you're driving through the Mojave Desert, one could expect a little extra heat. The windows were rolled down, letting in a very small but cooling breeze. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Why does it always seem like I'm taking down evil organizations?" she asked with her eyes closed.

"Because you are," answered Sark, who was sitting next to her.

She opened her eyes a little to look at him. "Why is that?"

He shrugged and turned his attention to looking out the window again.

Sydney kicked off her shoes and placed her feet in his lap, staring out her window. Five hours ago, she never would have guessed she'd be traveling through the Desert in an attempt to take down the Covenant.

After searching for over an hour, they found Irina sitting outside of Noah's prison cell having a fairly meaningless conversation with him about semi-automatic weapons. She claimed that she had gotten bored with all the talk of impossibilities and unsanctioned help.

"What the hell have you been up to?" Sydney asked Irina.

She wasn't even surprised when her mother's eyes shifted from hers to Vaughn, who was standing next to her, slightly out of breath from their extensive search of the facilities. "Do you still love my daughter?" she asked, balls out.

"That is so inappropriate," Sydney responded immediately.

"Yes," Vaughn said, ignoring the strange look Sydney gave him. "Not in the way that I once did, but I care for Sydney all the same."

"Good. Because I need you to do something so that her life is a little easier."

"Stop the cryptic code talk, Irina," Sark warned. He hated when she got all super spy on him.

"I need you to get the CIA to release Noah Hicks. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"At least not in a few years," Noah added from behind the Plexiglas wall.

"Nothing that we know about," Vaughn said, staring at him coldly. "Why should I get the CIA to release him?"

"Many reasons." Irina stopped up and walked in front of him so that they were eye to eye. "One, it will make Amy Tippin extremely happy if when she gets out of the hospital, her boyfriend isn't a prisoner of the state. Two, like I previously said, he hasn't officially done anything to warrant imprisonment. And three, if you let him go, I'll tell my daughter where Weiss and Conway are because they are certainly not in Tokyo."

Vaughn crossed his arms in front of himself. "What makes you think that they've left Tokyo?"

"Come on," Irina said, rolling her eyes at him. "After what Mr. Hot Head over there did?" She nodded in Sark's general direction.

"What did he do?" Vaughn eyed Sark and Sydney suspiciously as they were both making a strong effort not to look him in the eye.

"He went after Conway and Weiss himself. Probably could have killed them, too. Only that isn't as fun as making them suffer for the rest of their lives, is it, Julian?" Sark smiled weakly, still looking at the ground. "He left Conway with a nasty bullet graze and a headache the size of Russia. Neither of your ex-CIA friends were pleased. They relocated to a spot they thought no one knew about."

"But you somehow magically do?" Vaughn asked. "And you won't tell your daughter even though it might cause her further pain and suffering?"

Sydney let out a small chuckle which called everyone's attention to her. "Haven't you learned yet? With my mother, it's all about profit. Everything's about profit."

"Exactly," Irina said. "And I want to profit from this."

"And how does letting Noah Hicks out of our custody make you profit?" Vaughn asked.

"That's none of your business."

Sark rolled his eyes, realizing this conversation wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and walked over to stare at Noah through the clear barrier. "So, do you feel like a caged animal in a zoo or what?"

"Yeah, but isn't that typical?"

"I was in there for two years. All anyone did was walk by and glare at me. That is, if they weren't demanding I tell them everything I know about anything. Have you gotten a lot of that?"

"Every hour on the hour."

"And they never used to listen when I tried to explain that I had been cooped up in a prison cell for quite a while and there was no possible way I had any intel that they didn't know about." Sark smirked. "Which was of course a lie."

"Of course. A man has to have his secrets."

"Like why Irina wants you out of government custody," Sark prodded.

"That would be a secret I'm not going to tell you."

"Can't blame a guy for trying." The two men looked back at where Vaughn and Sydney were screaming at each other with Irina smiling at them.

"How does she do that?" Noah asked, remarking on Irina's ability to turn a situation to her advantage.

"It's a Bristow woman thing. Sydney can do that, too. I mean, obviously you know that. You were intimate with her once."

"Yeah, I was. And now I hear that you are filling that position."

"And don't you forget it," Sark said, staring Noah in the face through the dividing glass. "I don't want you to try stealing her away from me like you did when she had that pseudo-relationship with Michael Vaughn. Thought, I don't see why you would. You seem perfectly content with Amy Tippin."

"I am," Noah said. He looked back at the slightly calmed down scene. "They have been discussing my impending release for over five minutes now. And I feel like I'm not even in the room."

Sark nodded. "I've been imbedded in their lives for years now, and they still leave me out of all the important conversations."

"That stinks," Noah said sympathetically, turning back to the action. "Looks like Irina's winning."

"She always does." Sark walked back to where Sydney, Irina, and Vaughn were standing. Vaughn had pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and was talking heatedly with someone.

"So, what's going on?" Sark asked as he slipped his hand into Sydney's. She wouldn't admit it, but her whole body demeanor was screaming for comfort.

"My mother convinced him."

"Sounded more like you were doing the convincing."

"I know." Sydney looked up at him. "I don't know what came over me."

"Your mother." He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the nose as Vaughn slapped his cell phone shut.

"Well?" Irina asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's done." Vaughn turned to Noah. "You should be released within a few hours."

Noah nodded and looked over at Sark. "Guess they did remember that I was in the room..." He knocked on the glass division. "...sort of."

After a few quick goodbyes and one meaningful look between Irina and Noah, they left him alone in his cell.

"Now, that wasn't too bad, was it?" Irina asked.

"No," Vaughn said reluctantly. "So, where are Eric and Stephanie?"

"Oh, I don't know that," Irina said. Vaughn halted in his tracks. "I'm kidding. They're in Death Valley. You should be able to get there in five hours by car. Four if Dixon manages to keep the cops from pulling you over."

Sydney nodded her head. "Well, the easy part is over. Now it's on to the hard part."

"And that would be?" Sark asked.

"Talking to Will and convincing him that he needs to help us whether he wants to or not." She looked at three of the most important people in her life. "And I'm going to do it alone."

Sydney walked away from them without saying another word or waiting for the arguments to start. She knew that Dixon had already arranged for her to pick up a suddenly guard-less Will later that night, but she couldn't afford to lose so many precious hours. Will was coming with her now.

After a quick visit with Marshall, Sydney stood in front of a line of cells. She waved the guards away from guarding Will's particular cell, and for whatever reason, they complied. Punching in a code that no one knew she had, the door slid open and stayed that way.

"Is that wise?" Will asked, sitting up on his cot. "Haven't you heard? Turns out I'm a psycho killer that's bent on ruining your life."

"I can deal with that if you can." She took a seat next to him. "I need your help again, Will. And since your life is already ruined, I figure at this point I can't do much more to screw it up."

Will chuckled. "What do you need me to do? Go over a few documents for you? Try to remember what exactly I learned when I was working with the Covenant? Get memory repression therapy so I can remember something Weiss was typing on his laptop?"

Sydney gave him an unamused look. "Nothing that complicated. I just need you to escape CIA custody and go take down the Covenant with me."

"I'm not mentally stable enough to do that, and you know it."

"I don't care how stable you are. I need you to help me if I'm going to get this done."

Will looked at her in concern. "You're on a mission, aren't you, Sydney Bristow?"

"Nothing in the universe can stop me," she said with a grin.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Will said, "But I can't help you. I just can't. I'm too much of a risk. The CIA hasn't figured out how to reverse what the Covenant did to me. Until that point, I'm not going to step foot out of this cell."

Sydney sighed and grasped his hand in hers without turning to look at him. "Then you're going to have to spend the rest of your life in a cell, Will."

"What do you mean?"

She finally looked at him, and he noticed she had begun to cry. "A few hours ago, Sark looked into the technique they used to make you a sleeper agent. It isn't reversible, Will. There's no way it can be fixed."

He pulled his hand out of hers, stood up, and began pacing across the cell. "I'm stuck like this forever? Never knowing if I'm going to be good or bad when I wake up in the morning?"

"Not exactly." Sydney stood up. "It seems that you're eventually going to settle somewhere in the middle, and the tests the CIA have been running seem to indicate that you have some degree of free will in your decisions. For whatever reason, the brainwashing wasn't as effective as they hoped. Bottom line is you're never going to be the same, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to become a bad person."

"I tried to kill you, Sydney. I'm already a bad person."

She smirked at him. "I have a habit of forgiving bad people. Hell! I think I've been one of those alleged bad people before. If I can forgive myself, then I think I can forgive you." She grabbed his hand again. "Come with me. Help take down the bastards that did this to you."

Will stared at her for a moment before nodding. She pulled him out of the open cell door and began to walk down the hall. "So, we're just going to walk out of here?"

"Not exactly," she said a few seconds before the building began to shake. "Marshall made us a slight diversion."

Will could hear crashes and a few screams. "Marshall caused an earthquake?" he screamed.

"A simulation of one, correct." Sydney pushed open a door and ran out into the smoggy sunshine of outside L.A. The alarm rang, but no one was paying attention to it. There were alarms ringing everywhere.

Sydney walked over to a parked car that had seen better days. Sark was sitting in the driver's seat, but when he saw them coming, he got out of the car. Nodding slightly to Will, he tossed him the keys. "You're driving."

"Can you trust me to do that?" Will asked, sliding into the driver's seat.

"You're going to have to start earning our trust sometime," Sark said as he sat down in the backseat. "Think of it as me paying you back for giving me a chance a few weeks ago when you found out that I was the one Syd recruited you to save from the Covenant. Besides, I'm tired. Sydney's tired. We need a few hours off if we're going to do this."

Will nodded and turned the ignition while Sydney slipped into the backseat. "Here we go. I hope you know what you're doing."

Sydney smiled at him. "I hope so, too."

"Does this junker have air conditioning?" Will asked, looking around.


	27. Bang

Will stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut. "So, what exactly is the plan?"

Sark looked at Sydney. "I thought we might just run in there guns blazing until we hit something of importance, and hopefully you won't pull a personality shift on us in the meantime. Because I really don't look forward to killing you as much as I once did."

"And what did you have in mind, Syd?" Will asked, paying no real mind to Sark.

"Same thing," she said with a sly smile. "Only maybe a little more tactful. And without the killing of you." She popped open the trunk.

Will peered inside. "Nice." There was just about every weapon you could buy illegally on your average street stored in the trunk. He took stock of all the options for a few seconds and then selected a rather impressive looking handgun.

"That's boring," Sark muttered to himself. He grabbed a handgun similar to Will's and shoved it into his waistband next to his own personal gun. Smirking, he lifted up a crossbow. "Now this is inventive."

"And mine," Sydney said, wrestling it out of his hands. "You know I wanted the crossbow."

Will rolled his eyes, picking up a couple more guns and a handful of ammunition rounds. "Are we going to have any back up on this crazy mission?"

"In a way," Sark said as he grabbed a baseball bat out of the trunk.

"That's civilized. You mock me for picking a gun, but your bat selection is fully appropriate."

"You haven't seen me with a bat. It's not pretty."

Sydney shoved some gun clips into her pocket. "Stop it, you two. If I didn't know better, I would think that neither one of you had been brainwashed with the way you're acting. To properly answer your question, Will, yes, we do have back up but not here in Death Valley. Dixon has scrounged for information and managed to come up with enough to make raids on the Covenant's facilities in Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Edinburgh. Those are where we suspect the major players in the organization are based."

"So, we're in charge of taking down Weiss and Conway with no outside help?" Will asked.

"Yes."

He knocked the safety off of the gun in his hand. "Sounds like fun."

Sydney was thrown off a little by his comment but realized she would have to start getting used to it. The Will Tippin that was going to come out of this whole situation would be a little harsher and more blunt than before, and that was putting it lightly. It was a fact she had to accept.

Slamming the trunk lid down, she walked around to the front of the car. "Are we ready, boys?"

The trio walked down the sidewalk and around to the front of the rather ominous looking building they had parked behind. With one quick nod of acknowledgement to each other, they calmly climbed the stairs, and Sark held the main door open for them. It was safe to say that no one gave them a second glance, which was the Covenant's first mistake.

Without hesitation, Will opened fire on the people at the security desk. Sydney found herself wondering whether he would have done the same if she hadn't told him that every person in the building would be some type of Covenant operative. Still, in the back of her head, she found herself wondering what if she was wrong about just one of these people. What if the Covenant's situation was more like SD-6 than anyone guessed? What if these people were innocent?

"Snap out of it, Sydney!" she heard Sark scream. She turned in time to see him club the man who had been firing bullets at her in the knees. The man went down, and Sark dealt him a decisive blow to the head. A few years ago, this action would have horrified her. Now, it just seemed normal.

Sending him a look of thanks, she pulled the crossbow up and shot at a few of the men on the balconies above who were joining the fray. When she was out of arrows, she threw it hard at a woman who was aiming her gun towards Sark. She saw Will duck down behind a pillar, and she threw herself so she was positioned next to him.

"We need to get out of this foyer," he screamed over the sounds of bullets and screams. He periodically fired a few shots out from behind the pillar.

Sydney peaked out from behind the pillar. The first thing she noticed was that her boyfriend was having a little too much with his baseball bat. "That could probably be attributed to his lack of a father figure when he was smaller," she thought. The second thing she noticed was that there was a definite door that all the Covenant operatives were protecting.

There was a small explosion, and Will instinctively covered Sydney's head with his body.

After a moment, she shrugged out of his hold. "We need to go there," she said, pointing at said door. "That's the way to get inside."

Will nodded and began to take out the men surrounding the door one by one. Sydney left her position of protection behind the pillar and made her way over to Sark, dodging bullets. Grabbing his hand, she pulled out her gun and dragged him towards the now exposed door. He dropped the bat and pulled out one of his guns, helping take out people along the way.

After they had vaulted through the door, they waited in a surprisingly quiet hallway until Will joined them a few moments later.

"So was that fun?" Sydney asked, mocking him.

Will wiped the blood off of his face where someone had cut him with a knife. He looked over at her. "Hell yeah."

"He's turning into me," Sark said as he stood up and brushed off his clothes. "We need to get moving before Weiss and Conway realize we're here and pin down our exact position."

"This mission is all about the element of surprise," Sydney said, taking Sark's hand as he helped her up. She unconsciously put her hand on her stomach just to reassure herself that there was no injury there. Sark gave her a funny look, which she ignored. Now was not the time to tell him he was going to be a father.

The trio ran down the hall as quickly as they could. Each was thinking about something completely different than the others.

Sydney was wondering if the other raids were even happening. Dixon might just have told her that to give her some confidence. Taking down a major cell of the world's leading evil organization wasn't easy to do when you had just two other people. What if by taking down Weiss and Conway, for some reason, she actually made the Covenant stronger? 

Sark was thinking about the next couple days. He had decided that Sydney was indeed the love of his life, like she had been insisting since she stole him away in Tokyo. During his whole life, she was the only woman who could keep him on his toes. And now it seemed she could also be distinguished as the woman who could terrify him. He had never been terrified before, on all the missions, in all the gunfights. So why was he terrified of giving her a silly little ring?

Will was considering how that firefight had made him feel. During his days infiltrating the Covenant, he had dreaded ever being forced to use his gun. Now, it was about the only thing that made him happy. The feel of the bullet leaving the shaft of the gun made his pulse quicken. The Covenant had turned him into a man who delighted in killing. And he wasn't bothered by that like he should have been. No. He was pleased.

"Why are you limping?" Sydney asked pointing to Sark. He was walking with a noticeable shuffle.

"It's nothing," Sark said without stopping.

Sydney grabbed him and pushed him up against a wall. "It's not nothing. Tell him it's not nothing, Will."

"Um... it's not nothing?" Will said half-heartedly.

She rolled her eyes while leaning down and touching his pant leg. Her hand recoiled instantly as she felt something damp. She looked down to see her hand covered in blood. "What happened?"

"My leg might have caught a little bit of the blast when Will shot that generator in the lobby."

"When did I shoot a generator?" Will asked, taking a seat on the ground for a moment since it didn't seem like they were moving anytime soon.

"You and Sydney were hiding behind the pillar."

"We weren't hiding. We were using the pillar as cover," she corrected.

"Right," Sark said, clearly not believing them. "One of Will's shots went a little wide of target I think and hit a electric generator. The explosion sent metal flying everywhere."

Sydney took a deep breath and, ignoring her boyfriend's noticeable wince, she rolled up the pant leg. Indeed, there was a piece of metal lodged into his leg. "We need to get you out of here so you can get this treated."

"I'm not leaving you." Sark pulled his leg out of her reach and rolled the pant leg back down. "So we're not even going to waste time discussing it. I learned my lesson the first time. You and I shouldn't leave each other alone anywhere. Good things never come of it."

Sark began to walk down the hallway. After a few moments, Sydney and Will followed. They returned to their own private thoughts.

However, all three snapped out of their thoughts rather quickly as a voice echoed down the hall. "We know you're here, Sydney."

It was Weiss talking over the speaker system.

"Stephanie and I have been waiting for you since your little second in command paid us a visit in Tokyo. Did you really think that you could infiltrate us without our knowing? I mean, come on!" The hallways erupted with Weiss's laughter. "Do I have to remind you that we have a spy in your midst? We've known you were coming since you decided it."

Sydney looked at Will in confusion. He just shrugged, not knowing what to say or how to explain.

"I'm not even going to ask you to surrender, Syd. I think we're past that. I just want you to get the hell out. You live your life, and I'll live mine. We don't ever have to interact again. Stay away from the CIA, and I'll stay out of your perfect little life drowning in normality."

The system clicked off as Weiss finished speaking.

"What the hell was that about?" Sark asked, looking back at Will. Will, in turn, looked back at Sydney. She was standing there looking up at the ceiling with an almost giddy smile on her face. Sark narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you thinking?"  
  
"I'm thinking that Weiss just made a huge mistake. He banked on the fact that I couldn't figure out who the traitor was. Since I figured it out, Will has been in seclusion. He hasn't had time to contact the Covenant." She turned to Will. "Right?"

"No contacting from me," he affirmed.

"So, Weiss doesn't know that Will's on my side. He doesn't even know that Will's with us right now."

"I hate to play devil's advocate here." Sark paused at a glare sent his way by Sydney. "Okay, I love to play devil's advocate. How do we know that Tippin's not going to snap during crunch time and help out the Covenant?"

Sydney looked at her old friend intently. "Because I trust him. And that's enough."

"So, what now?" Will asked as they continued to walk down the empty hallway.

"Now we get sneaky." She grinned.

* * *

Stephanie was frantically flipping through the security channels they had throughout the building. "I can't find them, Eric," she insisted, swirling in her chair from one monitor to the next.

Weiss walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders. "First, calm down. Second, they have to be somewhere in the building. Sydney Bristow does not give up when she's on a mission until that mission is complete. I offered her the chance to go home with her life, but I know she's not going to take it."

"Oh, she didn't," said a voice from the doorway.

"Mr. Tippin," Weiss said with a smile. "Glad you could finally join us."

"And I brought some party guests," Will said with a wicked smile. He had a gun pointed at a rather battered looking Sydney and Sark. "They fell for your plan, Eric. You were right. They figured out that it was me doing all the backstabbing and actual stabbing."

"I told you they would," Stephanie pointed out. "You weren't very subtle."

"I wasn't told I had to be subtle. I was just told I had to get the job done. And I did." Will pushed Sark into the room first. Weiss was happy to see Sark wincing in pain. Since he had no sense of balance due to his hands being handcuffed behind his back, Sark landed face down on the carpet in front of Weiss's boots. "When they found me out, my loyal friend here wouldn't let the CIA mistreat me." Will poked Sydney hard in the ribs with the barrel of his gun. "So, they kept me locked up in a cell. Hence the no contact thing."

"We were wondering," Weiss said. "It was very unlike you not to check in."

"I let them believe that I was poor Will Tippin, distraught over what the big bad Covenant had done to my head and over what I seemingly had done to my sister. They couldn't believe that I actually chose to become what I am."

Sydney looked back at her friend with tears in her eyes. "You can't actually believe that this is what you wanted, Will. I trusted you."

"I know. Isn't that sad? A person like you should know by now that you can't trust anyone." Will poked her in the ribs again and made her sit down in one of the chairs in front of the Stephanie's desk. He turned his attention back to Weiss. "I let them think I was willing to help them take down the Covenant and you two specifically. They practically handed me the keys to the building. Which is why I was in the position to betray them. And here we all are."

Weiss walked over to Will and whispered in his ear, "There's only one small problem to your plan, Will."

Will gave him a confused look. Weiss pointed over at his girlfriend who was now aiming a gun in Will's direction. "You didn't take you own advice. Trust no one."

Stephanie fired the gun.


	28. Confusion

Stephanie smirked. "Exactly. Trust no one."

Weiss clutched his chest in pain and hit the floor hard. Everyone went into action. Sydney drew a gun out of her jacket and pointed it at Stephanie. Will kept his gun trained on Sark, who was still lying on the floor. Stephanie had shifted her gun away from Weiss and onto Will as she inched her way over to where Sark lay. She placed a boot defiantly on top of his back, keeping him pinned.

"What the hell is going on?" Will yelled finally after they all spent a minute or two staring at each other's guns and the situation at hand.

"That's what I'd like to know," Weiss said from the floor.

"Shut up," Stephanie hissed at her boyfriend. "You were never the one in control of this situation. I can only carry you so far, Eric."

"What is the matter with you?" Weiss managed to spit out even though his voice was getting a little shaky.

"Save your energy," Stephanie said as she watched his eyes dip down. "You're going to need it if you want to get through this."

"That was not part of the plan," Will reminded her. Hesitantly, he shifted his gun off of Sark's pinned body and held it halfway between Sydney and Stephanie, prepared to move it in whatever direction was needed.

"The plan changed a long time ago, Tippin." Stephanie looked over at Sydney. "And might I ask why she has a gun in her hands now? Were you going to double cross me, you naughty boy?"

Will ignored her question. "There wasn't supposed to be anyone getting shot. I was supposed to lure Sydney and Sark here under the pretenses that they could take down your Covenant cell. Then, you were going to fix whatever the hell your doctors did to my head."  
  
Sydney looked over at Will in shock and betrayal. He hadn't mentioned the fact that the Covenant knew he was coming. She had believed in him when he agreed to pretend to be turning her and Sark into Weiss and Conway. They were supposed to get the advantage from that. Now he was claiming that everything he was doing was just to fix his own little problem. She didn't know whether to switch her gun over to pointing at him or keep it in its present position.

Without taking her eyes off of Will, Stephanie threw a length of rope at Sydney. Sydney let the rope hit her chest and fall to the ground in front of her.

"I need you to tie up Will," Stephanie instructed. "That shouldn't be a problem considering your friend was about to betray you. And Will, you shouldn't object considering you got yourself into this mess. Like we have all been saying, trust no one, honey." When Sydney didn't move, Stephanie added, "If you don't, I'll shoot your little man on the floor."

Will and Sydney both realized that they really didn't have any other options. Will lowered his gun and allowed Sydney to tie his hand securely behind his back. She took the little window of opportunity to take her last little glimmer of hope and whisper in his ear, "I still don't believe that you're betraying us, Will. We'll get out of this."

If there was any little bit of the Will she knew inside of the man in front of her, if he had been telling her the truth and the things he had just said were all an act, then he would be happy to work with her to get out of the mess they were in. She got no hint as to whether this hope was in the right or not.

Will just glared at her words.

"Now, Sydney, I need you to put this on." Stephanie tossed two pairs of handcuffs over to Sydney. "Handcuff yourself to that radiator with one and to Will with the other. I don't want either of you getting loose and trying to kill me. It doesn't really fit in with my master plan."

"And what is your master plan?" Weiss spit out. He was still leaning against the far wall, drifting in and out of consciousness. "Because I'd like to know."

Stephanie smiled and waited to hear Sydney click the handcuffs in place. She lowered her gun and took her foot off Sark's back. Walking over to Weiss, she began to chuckle. "You see, it's a funny thing. I'm not going to tell you."

She hit him across the face with the butt of her gun, knocking him unconscious. "Don't people ever pass out from loss of blood anymore?" she asked the rest of her captives.

Sydney and Will just glared.

"Call it a moment of weakness, but I think I'm going to take pity on him. He really tried hard to be an evil genius. But hey! Some things just don't work out." Stephanie picked up the phone on the desk and hit a button. "Could someone come in here and get Eric Weiss to whatever appropriate medical facility is around?"

Within seconds, a pair of burly men came in and grabbed Weiss's unconscious body without looking around the room. "They're so loyal, aren't they?" Stephanie said with a smile. She turned to tell the men exactly what she wanted done with Weiss.

Will took the moment to lean in a little closer to Sydney. "How are we going to get out of this one, Syd?" he asked.

She looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean how the hell are we going to get these handcuffs off and get out of this building?" When she continued to stare at him, he rolled his eyes. "I wasn't really going to turn you in. You told me out there in the hall to make it seem convincing. Yes, the Covenant wanted me to lead you two into a trap. So, I made it seem like I was just following orders."

"So you weren't going to betray me?"

"No," Will said with a smile. "I might be a little screwed up with my priorities right now, but like you said, the CIA managed to fix it so I have a little free will. I would never choose to put you through this, Sydney. Never."

"Are you two done with your heartfelt chat?" Stephanie asked as she waved the two men away with Weiss's limp but still breathing body. "Because I have things to do."

Sighing as the door clicked shut again, she walked over to Will and stuck her hand into his jacket pocket. With a smile, she extracted the keys to the handcuffs Sark was wearing and jingled them in front of his face. "Thank you so much."

Sydney couldn't understand what had happened. Two minutes ago, their plan to take down Weiss and Conway was working like a dream. All she had to do was wait for a window and then fire off a quick shot to take down Conway. Will would have taken that as his cue to take down Weiss. And now Weiss was shot, she and Will were handcuffed to one another and a radiator, and Stephanie was letting Sark out of his pair of handcuffs. It was all too confusing.

"What's going on?" she asked weakly as she watched Sark sit up and begin to gently rub where the handcuffs had dug into his wrists.

Stephanie began to laugh again. "You were never quick on the uptake, were you?" She handed Sark a gun, and he winked up at her as he hobbled to his feet. "I started out being truly sincere with dear Eric over there. He showed me that the righteous path of the Central Intelligence Agency was not as righteous as they would have liked everyone to believe. The true path was with the Covenant. And if he wasn't unconscious and on his way to get medical care right now, I'd thank him."

Stephanie sighed and sat down on the desk. "After a few weeks, I sort of realized that Weiss wasn't really going to be the man I needed to get things done. I needed someone a little more brutal, a little crueler."

"Description ring any bells, love?" Sark said with a sly smile.

"So, I got good ole Julian here to help me out. Turns out he didn't really like his happy little life with you. Imagine that! Someone actually isn't willing to give up the world for Sydney Bristow." Sydney stared at the man she loved who was looking so cruelly at her. The tears welled up in her eyes once more.

"Aw, don't cry, Sydney," Conway said with an exaggerated frown. "It'll all be okay. I promise, we're not going to kill you today."

"I don't understand," she managed to spit out.

"I planted the idea of stealing Sark away from you and brainwashing him into Weiss's head. He actually thought it was his plan. When we got Sark in our custody, it didn't take me long to figure out that not that much brainwashing was necessary. He didn't really want his normal life with you, Sydney. I pitched this plan. Let Will Tippin take all the heat for betraying you. When the perfect opportunity arises, we'll just kill you all."

"I thought you said you weren't going to kill Sydney," Will pointed out.

"And I really thought you were on our side," Sark said. "I told you a long time ago that if you did what I said, you wouldn't get left out when the rewards were being distributed. But you couldn't betray Sydney completely in the end, could you? You had to be her knight in shining armor once more."

"Obviously you weren't getting the job done."

"Enough, boys," Stephanie said, standing up. "You're making me mad. And when I get mad, the only thing that calms me down is someone's head on a platter." She turned to look at Sydney. "I think I'm changing my mind. I don't want you alive anymore. You annoy me too much with your innate goodness and your ability to make the whole world bend to your needs. I mean, it's disgusting."

"Shoot me, and get it over with then," Sydney spit out. She had gotten control of her emotions, and now she was just pissed off.

"Oh, I'm not going to shoot you," Stephanie said with a smirk. She turned to Sark. "He is."

Sark took the gun in his hand and clicked the safety off.

"Julian?" Sydney said softly. Her voice was noticeable shaky as he pointed the gun at her. "Is this really what you want to do?"

"More than anything," he said with a smirk. In an instant, he shifted his position and pointed the gun straight at Stephanie's heart. "You stupid bitch."

The sound of the gun going off echoed through the room. Sydney and Will watched in amazement as Stephanie crumpled into a heap. It was almost as if the world had gone into slow motion, and nothing happening was real. After a moment, Sark reached down and pulled the handcuff keys off of her body. His face devoid of expression, he unlocked the cuff connecting Sydney and Will. Standing up, he walked over to where Sydney was attached to the radiator and crouched down next to her to unlock it.

Sydney rubbed her wrist and looked over at him. He was wincing in pain, but he was smiling at her. She touched the side of his face hesitantly and whispered. "Julian?"

He winked at her. "Don't ever tell me that I'm not a good actor."

She laughed and flung herself into his arms. When he gasped in pain, she pulled back and slugged him hard in the arm. "Don't you ever do that to me again!"

"It worked, didn't it?" he said. He turned to Will. "Are you all right, Tippin?"

"Yeah," Will said. He was leaning over Stephanie's body. "Nice shot. She won't be as lucky as Weiss."

Sydney nodded, understanding what he meant. Without taking her eyes off where Stephanie lay, she asked, "Now can somewhere explain to me where we stand? Who was betraying me and who wasn't?"

"As near as I can tell," Sark began, "the plan we went in with never really got betrayed."

"I was pretending the whole time like I told you before. I guess the Covenant wanted me to lure the two of you in at the first possible moment. I wasn't aware of that," Will added.

"So, you were acting when Stephanie shot Weiss?" Sydney asked.

"I had no idea she was going to do that."

"Did you?" she asked, turning to Sark.

"No idea. Like I said, I was making it up as I went. I figured the only way to get you two out of this mess was to pretend like I knew her master plan."

"Oh, we were the ones in the mess, huh?" She rolled her eyes. "And you were just fine tied up on the floor with her boot digging into her back?"

"I had it under control," Sark lied.

She rolled her eyes again. "So neither one of you meant to betray any of us. Stephanie did betray Weiss because she had developed a little thing for you, Julian. Weiss was just a complete moron and had no control of the situation. And I never shifted in my, and I quote, 'innate goodness'. That about sum it up?"

"It'll do," Will said with a smile.

"Do you think we can go home now?" Sark asked. He was tired to talking.

"I think our job is done." Will stood up. "Without Conway, this whole facility should just self-destruct as every little underling makes a power play for control. If that doesn't happen, if someone actually does assume power, it shouldn't be that hard to take them down again."

Sydney was about to also express her desire to go home when a cell phone started to ring. Looking sheepish, Will reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. "Hello? What the hell are you doing call me now?" He paused. "Yes. It's all over. No more Covenant cell." Another pause. "A business proposition?"

Sydney strained to hear who was on the other end, but she couldn't tell.

"That sounds mighty convincing, but I can't say yes to you right now." He paused again to listen. "I agree."

Sydney looked at Sark in confusion. "Who is that?"

"I don't know," Sark said as he also strained to hear some sort of clue. "What I want to know is how whomever that is knew we had finished taking down the Covenant. Our mission has only been complete for a few minutes."

Will snapped his cell phone closed. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Aren't you going to tell us who that was?' Sydney asked as she and Will began to walk and Sark hobbled out of the facility.

"It would be better if you didn't know. Anyway, I kind of like knowing that I have a secret from you."

"Just as long as it doesn't involve brainwashing, you can have any secret you want," Sydney admitted.

The three walked over the destruction they had caused coming into the building with another word. There were more questions that still needed to be answered, but they were too tired to do that right now.


	29. The Next Step in Life

Sark played with the ring box in his hand as the cab made its way to Park Avenue. Sydney didn't know he was coming home today. He was supposed to be in the hospital for at least the rest of the week according to the doctor's first prognosis. So, she had no idea he was coming. Because of this, if the cab driver didn't pick up the pace, there was a good chance she wouldn't be in the penthouse when he arrived. She was supposed to bring him lunch today. If he didn't catch her, she'd get a not too nice surprise when she finally goes to the hospital and finds out he's no longer there.

"Hurry up," he growled at the cab driver who just tipped his chin at Sark in a rude gesture.

Sighing, he tried to make himself relax as he returned his attention to the box. He wasn't sure if it was the right time to ask Sydney to marry him, but the box was burning a hole in his pocket. There had been a lot of thinking going on as he lay in that hospital bed. There was nothing else to do but think. He knew that he hadn't returned to being the man who had first asked her to marry him, but if she gave him the chance, he really wanted to try to become that man again.

"We're here, buddy," the cab driver growled. "That's ten-fifty."

Sark handed him a twenty and got out of the cab.

"Hey, mister!" the cabbie yelled.

Sark turned around and looked at him.

"You forgot your cane."

He opened the door and grabbed the long wooden stick out of the backseat. "Sorry. I'm new at this whole cane thing."

"No problem. Good luck with whatever you have in that ring size box. You're probably going to need it as much as you need that cane." The cab driver sped away the second the door was closed.

"Wanker." Sark glared down at his cane. "I think I hate you already."

"Mr. Julian!" called an extremely excited voice from behind him.

"Hello, William," Sark answered. He was genuinely pleased to see the doorman once more. "How are the grandchildren?"

"Doing just fine, Mr. Julian. How are you?"

"I've been better. The cane's only temporary, so I think I'll get through it."

"Do you want me to let Miss Sydney know that you're on your way up?" Sark smiled to himself, thinking about how great William was. The man never asked questions, and he had seen a lot of questionable activity coming from him and Sydney.

"No. It's a surprise."

William nodded, and Sark walked into the lobby. It was nice of William to unconsciously ease his fears about Sydney not being there. If she wasn't in the penthouse right when he got there, he had a feeling he would weasel out of proposing to her. He didn't like the fact that he was giving up control of the situation. It wasn't something he was used to.

He waited patiently for the elevator to rise to the penthouse level. When it did, he stepped out and took in his surroundings. It looked exactly as he had remembered it when he was cooped up in a small hospital room. He hadn't really expected anything to be different, but his nerves had allowed his mind to play out every possible scenario. One of those scenarios is the fact that Sydney decided she didn't want to be with a gimp like him and had already redecorated their home and replaced him with another man.

That definitely wasn't his favorite imagined outcome.

There was faint music coming from the kitchen which made him smile. And that was when the nerves really kicked in.

"Anyone home?" he called, knowing the answer.

Sydney popped out of the kitchen immediately and stared at him. "What are you doing home? You're supposed to be in the hospital."

"The doctor said I could come home, and I wanted to surprise you. Are you surprised?"

As an answer, Sydney ran across the room and into his arms with a small squeal of glee. "I take it you missed me," Sark said.

"Let's not do that whole crazy spy thing ever again. It always ends up with one of us hurt," she mumbled, her face buried in his chest.

"But it's the only thing you and I enjoy," Sark pointed out truthfully. "And I don't think either one of us could actually give it up even if it was what we really wanted." Smiling, he walked over to the couch and sat down gently.

"How is your leg feeling?" She took a seat next to him and cuddled into his arms.

"It's okay. The doctor said I should only have to use the cane for a few months."

Sydney looked at him funny. "You're uncharacteristically short of words, Julian."

Taking a deep breath and drumming up a little courage, he smiled at her. "I guess that's because there's something I want to talk with you about."

"What's the matter?"

"Depending on your perspective, nothing... or something." He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up so that she was sitting facing him. She looked at him confused as he grasped her hands in his. "Listen, Sydney. I know that the situation between us hasn't exactly been of our choosing. These things just happen. Life's little surprises, and all that."

The look she gave him conveyed shock and anger at the same time. It was very puzzling for him to interpret so he just moved on. "I know I might not be the man you loved when this all started, but I guarantee that someday I'll be that man again. I love you, Sydney, and I'll do everything I can to make this situation right."

He drew the box out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Will you marry me?"

She looked down at the ring, up at him, and back to the ring several times while trying to find the right words. He saw her furrow her brow in thought.

"I was hoping your answer wouldn't take this long," Sark said, trying to cut some of the tension that had been rising up inside of him. He had never been more nervous in his life.

"Are you doing this out of obligation?" she asked him very carefully after a moment.

He looked at her, bewildered. That was not the reaction he had thought she was going to have. He didn't think anyone had ever reacted to a marriage proposal with that question. "Obligation?"

Sydney paid him not attention and just kept talking. "Which one of them told you? Was it my mother or my father? I bet it was my mother on the plane. I told her not to tell you. How could she tell you? I said I would do it when the time was right. I can't believe she went against my wishes. I said I knew what I was doing. That it was still safe for me to be going on the missions that I did. I can't believe she didn't believe me! Why didn't I hear her tell you? I mean, I was sitting right there on the plane. God! Why is she so sneaky sometimes?"

"What are you talking about?"

Again, she ignored him. "Or maybe it was my father. I mean, he's the type of person to threaten you until the only option you think you have is to tie yourself to me permanently. It's so typical. He's such a bully sometimes. I should have known he'd do something like this! Plus, the whole fact that he told me he likes you should have tipped me off."

"Your father actually likes me?"

She ignored him for a third time. "He knew you were going to do this. I bet he made you feel obligated. I am going to kill him."

"Again, an explanation, please?"

She turned to look at him for the first time since she started rambling. "So, which one was it? Which one told you?"

"Told me what?"

"That I was pregnant," she said, frustrated and annoyed with him. She gave him one of the coolest glares she could muster up.

Sark's face drained of all color, and his mouth fell open.

Sydney eyes widened as she suddenly realized she might have made a mistake. "They did tell you, right?" she asked hesitantly.

Sark shook his head and stood up. He began to silently pace slowly back and forth across the room with his cane. If Sydney weren't so scared, she would have laughed. The sight of a man using a cane trying to walk across a room multiple times was kind of funny. It just wasn't something that was seen every day.

"You're pregnant?" Sark paused and asked halfway through a pace. When she nodded, he began to walk across the room again.

She tried to push her fear down and got up. It was time for her to prove to herself that everyone was right when they called her incredibly brave. Walking over to block him from pacing, she looked him in the eye. "Is something wrong, Julian?"

"Is something wrong? You're asking me if something's wrong." He looked at her intently. "Did you expect me to be happy about this?"

Her heart felt like it was ripped from her chest. She had imagined the worst case scenario when she told him. The reality was twice as worse as she would have imagined. "I don't know what I thought," she said sadly.

He turned away from her and stared out the window. They stood in silence for a few minutes, both not knowing what to say next.

Sark whispered something, but Sydney couldn't make out what it was. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm not the kind of man who should be a father," he said softly.

She was able to ask him what he meant by that when a few things clicked into place in her head. At that moment, Sydney realized that he had turned away from her not because he was angry or upset but because he was ashamed. "What do you mean?"

Sark turned to her. "I'm the type of guy people warn their children to stay away from, Sydney. I'm a murderer and a thief. I've ruined the lives of countless people and countless families. Hell, I've almost ruined your life on countless occasions. I'm still unconsciously screwing everything up for you. I cause pain, not joy, and I can't seem to change that no matter how hard I try. I'm practically a mercenary, bent on destroying anything good I come across." He shrugged and turned away from her again. "In short, I'm no good."

She laughed and placed her hand on his arm. "You're right. You used to be all of those things and more, Julian. But that was a long time ago. And even if that hadn't changed, you would still have made a wonderful father."

"A murderer would make a wonderful father?" He turned back to her again.

"This murderer would have." She grabbed his hand. "I don't care who you were or who you are. The only thing that matters is how you make me feel. And I have never loved someone as much as I love you. Because of that, I know that this baby is going to have the greatest father in the world. Nothing you have done or will do can change that. Not in my mind."

He just watched her for a few moments before pulling his hand out of hers and placing it on her stomach. "There's a baby in there?" he asked.

She giggled. "Yes. That tends to be where they're located."

"My baby?"

"Our baby." She looked at him nervously. "Are you unhappy about that?"

He shook his head. That was when Sydney noticed his eyes were welling up with tears. "Are you okay? Is it your leg?" she asked rather thickly.

"I'm going to be a father," he said, smiling at her. "I'm finally going to get a chance to prove that I'm nothing like my father was. Things can be different. I know they can."

"Well that was a fast shift to optimism," she said, scrunching up her nose.

Sark laughed but then quickly sobered. He narrowed his eyes at her. "How long have you known?"

"Just since right before the Covenant took you. I didn't want to tell anyone until I had you back."

"So you've been pregnant through all the crap we've been going through the past few weeks?"

"Yes," she said hesitantly. She had a feeling she knew where he was going with this line of thought.

"You risked your health and the baby's health?"

"I knew what I was doing. It was early on in the pregnancy. The things I was doing weren't affecting the baby. And I was careful, too. I had my mother and father watching out for me." She paused and gave him a funny look. "You know you're going to be an amazing father."

Sark pulled her close to him and kissed her lightly on the mouth. They stood like that for a minute until Sydney pushed away from him. "Wait a second," she said. "If you didn't know about the baby, then why were you proposing?"

This time it was his turn to laugh. "Because I want to spend the rest of my life with you, you idiot."

"Oh."

"So, does that mean you want to marry me?"

"Now that I think about it, it might be a good idea considering what's going to be showing up on our doorstep in less than seven months." She grinned at him. Not wasting a moment, he pulled her into another kiss, this one a little more heated than before.

Their celebration was cut short by the sound of the elevator doors sliding closed. "Were you expecting someone?" Sark asked. "Are you already carrying on torrid affairs even before we've gotten married, Sydney Bristow?"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, tugging him into the living room. There was a slight pause in her step as she recognized Anna Espinosa standing in the middle of the room. "Hello, Anna," she said cautiously moving into the room. "What brings you here? Without calling? Or any sort of heads up?"

"Two things," Anna answered coolly, not at all surprised by the fact that Sark was out of the hospital and home. "One, your mother told me that Julian was getting his memory back. I'm sorry I could not come sooner to see that he was alive with my own eyes. You know that I have always been one to get wrapped up in my job."

"Since we were little," Sark said with a smile at the memories it brought back.

"By the way, nice job on kidnapping him in Tokyo, Sydney."

"It was nothing," she said waving it off. "Have a seat."

Anna sat down on one of the leather chairs. "So, how are the memories coming, Julian?"

"Not too bad, Anna. I'm almost back to normal."

"Good," she said genuinely.

"What was your second reason for coming here?" he asked, getting back down to business.

"I have a job offer for you two."

"A job offer?" Sydney said, surprised at what she had said. "But Sark has his own business dealings and I have my clothing company. You know that. We don't need jobs."

"You don't need day jobs," Anna corrected. "But you can't deny that you wouldn't love being back in the spy world again. These past few months have been hell on you two, I'll admit to that. But at different times, you both were having the times of your lives. The thrill of firing a loaded weapon, of breaking a man's leg with only your bare hands, of exploding a car. Who needs a boyfriend when you can be a spy?" Anna smiled at them wickedly.

When they stared back at her with weird looks, she added, "Okay. Maybe that whole leg breaking thing is just me."

"Where are you offering us a job?" Sark asked, trying to steer the conversation back to a more kosher topic.

Sydney was the one who answered. She had begun to put two and two together, and she was getting an answer she didn't really like. "It's my mother, isn't it?"

Anna nodded.

"Your mother?" Sark asked. "Why does Irina always have to have something to do with everything?"

"She's been setting up an organization," Sydney explained. "I didn't stop her because it was better than having her out there doing evil. Trust me. Life is not fun when your mother's a criminal mastermind. Basically, her organization is the same as SD-6 if it was really affiliated with the government. Anna here is her top agent."

"When did all this happen?'

"While you were going through your amnesia stage," Anna explained. "Irina contacted me, and the offer seemed worthwhile. You know I've been a free agent since you and Irina took down K Directorate. Which, by the way, I never thanked you for making me unemployed." She glared at him but then returned back to her natural cool-headed state. "While you two have been off doing your little Covenant take down thing, Irina managed to get the CIA Director's approval. Her organization is part of the CIA now. Although no one will ever know that."

"And you want to offer us jobs?" Sydney asked.

"Irina also talked to Marcus Dixon when she was getting her organization sanctioned. The Director gave him final approval considering he's extremely familiar with your mother. Dixon made the condition that your mother had to have at least five agents working for her that he trusted. She only has three agents right now, myself included."

"So you need us if this is going to happen?" Sark asked.

At the same time, Sydney asked, "Who are the other two agents?"

Anna chose to answer Sark first. "Yes, Irina needs you both if she's going to do this. Personally, I don't think you should hesitate. I mean, the sheer fact that your mother is trying to lead an honest life should propel you towards wanting to help as much as possible. As you said, your life is a lot easier if she's working on the side of good. And, as for your question, Sydney, I'm surprised you haven't guessed who my colleagues are yet."

She looked at Sydney and Sark expectantly. When both of them continued to look confused, she sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why your mother thinks of you two as good agents. I mean, you can't even do simple detective work."

"Just tell us, Anna," Sark said through his teeth. She might have been his best friend during their childhood, but she was also second on his list of people who could infuriate him the most. The first place spot was reserved for his soon to be wife.

"Your mother got Noah Hicks to agree to work with her when you two brought her into the CIA facility. That's what she was doing when she disappeared for those few minutes. And she called Will Tippin right after you three took down the Covenant. Seeing as he doesn't exactly fit in anywhere right now, he agreed to work with us."

Anna stood up abruptly and made her way to the elevator. "I'll let you two think about it."

"We'll do it," Sydney blurted out. She saw Sark turn to look at her incredulously. "You know you want to say yes. We could discuss this for hours on end, but we'd both still come back to the same conclusion. Our lives just aren't normal if they don't have some sort of abnormality in them. I don't think we can survive without it. Or at least I don't think we could be happy without it."

Sark held up his hands and took a step back. He knew when it was the correct time to argue with Sydney and when the best possible decision was just to let her speak.

"Here are our terms, and I'm sure my mother will agree to them," Sydney said. "First, we get to veto going on missions. If either one of us isn't comfortable with it, we're not going. Our lives are still going to be as normal as we want them. Two, I will not be going on missions for at least ten months from now. I have a prior engagement that will be taking up most, if not all, of my time." She winked at Sark. "Third, I get to tell Vaughn, Marshall, and my father what we're doing. I am not keeping anyone I care for in the dark about my life from now on. I did that before. It was not fun. I won't be doing it again."

She walked over and took a seat next to Sark on the couch. "Anything else?" she asked him.

"No, I think you covered most of it." He smirked at Anna while slipping his hand into Sydney's again. "So how's the dental plan?"

THE END


End file.
